Blondes Have More Fun
by LostGirlsofStarsHollow
Summary: Shane and Lindsay run into one another after they graduate from Star Hollows High. They never hung around at school, but when the subject of Rory Gilmore pops up in their conversation, they discover they have something in common and become good friends.
1. Chapter 1

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter One

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean,Jess and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

Shane was attending Three Rivers Community College in Norwich Connecticut. Norwich was about thirty five or forty minutes from Stars Hollow. Close enough to get home if she needed to, and far enough away, so that she did not feel obligated to go home all the time.

After Shane graduated high school, she took on several jobs, receptionist, waitress, bartender, all of which bored her, and made her realize that unless she married a rich husband, she was not going to get where she wanted to be in life. Shane eventually landed a job as a teller in a bank. It was like a light switch went on. Shane found that she had a knack for numbers. Shane also found out that she had a knack for understanding how mortgages worked, the different investment schemes the bank had, and she also found out that she understood how the stock market worked. It just came so natural to her. So when the position of loan officer came up, she applied. Shane was given an interview and she knew she'd done well. She had answered all the questions, and thought she had presented herself very well. When she did not get the position she was surprised.

Shane requested, and received, a meeting with the vice president of the bank. At the meeting, Shane asked why she did not get the job, as she felt that she nailed it. The vice president, a portly man named Mr. Simpkins, told her that her knowledge was actually the best of all the candidates, but there were two problems. One, she dressed like a teller and not like an officer of the bank, two she had no education beyond high school. The position was entry level management and while she was probably qualified at that level, there was no future for her beyond that without a college degree and they were looking for someone who could rise in the company.

Shane countered that she could change what she wore and was sure she could master whatever they needed her to know to advance. Mr. Simpkins insisted a degree was necessary to be promoted beyond this position. Shane asked him what he saw as her future with the bank, and he replied that she was a smart girl and maybe she could become a head teller at a larger branch. Shane unpinned her identification badge, placed it on his desk and walked out.

So that's when Shane decided to go back to school and she applied, and got accepted, to Three Rivers Community College. She was in her second year of college and, upon completion, she was going to apply to the University of Connecticut and go on for her four year degree in either accounting or finance.

To support herself while she was going to school, she secured a job as a bartender at a little pub in Norwich called Pete's Tavern. That was the one job she could have where she could dress in tight, short skirts and no one minded. She also found a very nice apartment that she was able to comfortably afford while she had another person to share the rent with her, but her roommate had recently decided to move out to go live with a sailor in Groton, so she needed to find a replacement for her as soon as possible. She knew she could not afford to take on extra shifts to pay for the apartment by herself. Those hours were needed for classes and studying.

Shane was tending bar one afternoon when she noticed a tall blonde girl walk in and take a seat at the end of the bar. The girl looked familiar. Shane walked to the end of the bar to take her order and get a better look at her.

"Hi, what can I get for you?"

Lindsay looked up and saw a familiar face.

"You look familiar, do we know each other?"

Shane replied, "I think so, aren't you from Stars Hollow?"

"Yeah," Lindsay replied. Lindsay took a better look at the bartender. She saw a shorter girl with light blonde hair, friendly blue eyes and a ready smile.

Shane asked, "Didn't we go to high school together? You were on the girl's basketball team and volleyball team, and didn't you marry a guy who was on the hockey team?"

"Right on all accounts, except that I am not married any longer."

"Oh, you want a beer? I have to go take care of the group at the other end. Don't go anywhere till we talk."

"Sure, Miller Lite will work."

Shane handed her a beer and took off to her group, five guys who were going to hate themselves in the morning. Shane gave them their beers and shots of tequila, and figured they would be good for a while longer at least.

Shane was thinking, _Lindsay, __**that's**__ her name, and she married that Dean guy and now they're divorced. Wonder what happened there? Lindsay was a good looking girl with long legs from hell, and Dean was a hunk, _she thought to herself.

Shane wandered back to Lindsay's side of the bar. "Lindsay is the name, right?"

"Yeah, I remember you, but I can't place the name."

Shane laughed, "Well I was one of those girls who took up background space in high school, and you were on varsity teams and dated hunks. The name is Shane."

Lindsay gave a short, bitter laugh. "Didn't do me any good in the long run!"

"So, what are you doing here, Lindsay?"

"I enrolled at Three Rivers at the start of the semester. I found out that being a good wife was not a career option."

Shane looked at the taller girl, like her, a natural blonde, "Do you have some time? I get off in about an hour; I'd like to talk to you."

Lindsay pondered her invitation for a minute, "I'd like to, but I have to drive back to Stars Hollow. I had a rough day, and figured I could have one beer before I drive home."

"Look," Shane said, "you don't know me well, but I think you know I'm not an axe murder. Do you mind if I catch a ride back to Stars Hollow with you? It would be a good chance to see my mother, and I could catch a ride back with you in the morning."

"Sure, it would give us a chance to catch up; you're on."

Lindsay patiently waited for Shane to finish her shift. She remembered seeing Shane in school. They traveled in different social circles so she never did pay much attention to her. Actually, Lindsay welcomed the company for the ride home.

Since it was not busy, Shane got her boss to let her off early. "Lindsay, I live really close by, do you mind if we make a quick stop at my apartment first before we head out of town?"

"Not a problem, you ready?"

After a short drive, they arrived at Shane's apartment. "Lindsay, want to come up while I gather a few things?"

Lindsay entered the apartment and was struck at how bright and cheerful it was. She liked the bright white ceilings, the pastel green walls and the one dramatic, dark blue accent wall. The curtains were bright yellow and there were several Philodendrons scattered throughout the apartment. Lindsay liked it and wished she had a place like this so she could stay here and not have to return to Stars Hollow, where she was knew people called her Dean's reject behind her back.

Shane appeared from the bedroom carrying a small overnight bag, "I'm ready, let's go."

The two girls exited the apartment and Shane threw her bag into the bed of Lindsay's somewhat elderly Ford F-150 pickup truck, and jumped in.

"Lindsay, where in the world did you find this thing?"

"My father has a brother in Virginia, so when I needed a vehicle to commute, he drove it up and gave it to me. Hey, it's only 25 years old, and no rust.

Shane looked dubiously at the levers sticking out of the floor. "What are _those_ things?"

"Oh, that's the gear shift and the four wheel drive lever." Lindsay answered, then turned the key, and the truck came to life with a dull roar, she then put the truck in gear and smoothly shifted her way up to fourth gear.

For some reason, Lindsay looked at home behind the wheel of this ancient monster. The girls rode in silence for a few minutes. Shane turned to Lindsay, "Hey, do you mind if I ask what happened with you and Dean?"

Lindsay turned to Shane and said, "Where have you been hiding? It's common knowledge among almost everybody in Stars Hollow."

Shane laughed, "I've been too busy trying to avoid Stars Hollow and focusing on getting an education."

"Well, Shane, it goes like this, Dean and I got married. We lived with my parents for the first few months, and then we got our own place. I was dumb, Shane, I had no business getting married, but I tried, and gave my heart to Dean. I loved him, and I trusted him. Money was tight, I really had no skills to make any money, plus for some reason, Dean wanted me to stay home like his mother did. So he started working extra long hours to help us afford living. We had our fights, but we had our makeups, too. I thought we could work our way through it and then I found the letter."

"The _letter_?" Shane asked. Her curiosity was eating a hole in her stomach by now. "What was in it?" she asked, anxious to hear her answer.

Lindsay downshifted violently, "Oh, just a letter from Rory Gilmore to Dean, saying she felt guilty about their affair."

"Oh wow, that sucks. I see Rory Gilmore strikes again."

"Yeah, Shane, he was working at the old Dragonfly Inn that Lorelai Gilmore and Sookie St. James were renovating.

Shane looked at Lindsay, "Oh, I see what all the extra overtime was for now."

"I found the letter in his coat pocket and threw all his stuff out in the street from our second floor window. We lived in that white brick apartment building that faces the town square and I guess we put on quite a show for the town gossips that day. I'm sure Miss Patty and Babette were in their glory, they must have milked it for months. I found out Rory's boyfriend, Jess, had taken off and I guess she decided to reclaim her first boyfriend. Whoa, I just remembered…didn't you use to go out with Jess?"

"Yeah, I did, and Rory stole him from me, too, not that it was a big loss… just the idea of the way she did it pisses me off. I actually thought Jess was sort of cute in a strange way. My mother used to say he was so ugly he was cute," and Shane started laughing.

Lindsay joined in laughing, too, "I like that. _Why _did you go out with him?"

"Oh, I don't know, I was bored, and had been broken up with Joe Ascot for a couple of months. He was there, so I went out with him. It's pretty obvious he was just using me to make Rory jealous. Once Dean was provoked into breaking up with Rory, she latched right onto Jess, and I found myself dumped. To which my mother told me, good, about time I smartened up before I caught something they did not have a name for yet."

Lindsay laughed, "Hey, that Joe Ascot was a good looking guy. What happened?"

"He wanted to have sex, and I felt I was not ready for it so I didn't. So away he went. So much for my personality," and Shane started laughing,

Lindsay joined her, "That was funny. You know there is a common theme to both our stories."

Shane looked at her, "You're right, Lindsay, I hadn't thought of that - **Rory Gilmore**."

Lindsay bitterly said, "You know whatever she wants she takes. She took your boyfriend and my husband, and for some reason, we come out being the bad people. For some reason, she keeps her little princess persona. In gossip circles, I am known as the girl who could not keep her husband, while she is known as Dean's girlfriend, not the adulteress. I am sure in gossip circles when you got dumped by Jess for Rory, you were lacking something, too. It is amazing; she is like Teflon. "

Shane thought over what Lindsay just said. "You know Lindsay, you have a point."

"Oh, Lindsay, I live on Maple Terrace. The next right."

Lindsay turned the truck down the tree lined street and pulled up to the house Shane pointed to.

"I'll be by tomorrow morning at six-thirty to pick you up, Shane."

"Sounds good, have a great evening, and I'll see you in the morning, Lindsay. Bye now."

"Bye, Shane, see you then."

The next morning, Lindsay arrived at Shane's house at six-thirty on the dot. Shane was on the stoop waiting for her. "Good morning, Lindsay," she greeted and handed her a cup of coffee, "I figured we could use this for the ride."

"Thanks, it will hit the spot."

The two girls drove in silence, sipping on their coffee, till Lindsay said, "You know, I wish I lived in Norwich, this drive every day is getting to be a real pain in my ass."

Shane looked over at the taller girl, "You could if you wanted to."

'How's that?"

"I need a roommate. Three hundred a month would cover it, and half the electric bill."

Lindsay laughed sardonically, "It sounds good except for the three hundred a month. I don't have a job, and my parents cannot afford that."

Shane thought for a couple of minutes. "Do you think you can wait tables?"

"According to my ex-husband, I can't do anything."

"I'm surprised to hear Dean would say something like that. He always struck me as being a pretty decent guy."

"He is, Shane, except when he gets around Rory Gilmore. I still haven't completely recovered from the nightmare those two put me through. It was his idea to get married right out of high school. I thought we should have waited a little longer, but I loved him so much and didn't want to lose him so I let him talk me into it and then he cheated on me with _her_. I guess that's the thanks I get for saving myself for marriage. I really thought my virtue would have earned me a more loyal husband than I ended up getting. She was an adulteress and I was a virgin and he respects her more than he ever respected me."

Shane could see that Lindsay was on the verge of tears."Lindsay, you definitely don't need to lower yourself by comparing yourself to someone like Rory Gilmore. She's a cute girl and all, but she's not exactly fashion model material like you are and she'll never understand what real love is, any more than that mother of hers will. Come on, you should take that waitress job where I work. With your legs, you can't miss, girl."

Lindsay didn't answer, but Shane could see she was deep in thought and she hoped she was giving consideration to the things she'd just said. Shane leaned back and watched the other cars going by, wondering what sort of lives the occupants lived. Sometimes she tried to guess, and wondered how accurate she was. She saw a Porsche being driven by older man and surmised he had a fear of losing his virility and probably had a young girlfriend and a clueless wife. Then she spotted a cute, candy apple colored Volkswagen being driven by a girl about her age, most likely a student at one of the colleges in the area. Then she thought of the ancient pickup truck being driven by a beautiful blonde. That would be a hard one to peg, she thought to herself. No it wasn't she thought, the girl driving that truck would be secure in who she is. Well. Lindsay did not quite fit that profile, but again she wondered…

**"I'LL DO IT!" **Lindsay shouted unexpectedly, feeling relieved that she was on the verge of knowing what it felt like to be independent by making that spontaneously crucial decision.

Shane almost jumped out the window, "Girl, you almost scared the shit out of me! You'll do what?"

"Get me the job and I'll be your roommate. I need to get the hell out of Stars Hollow and start living my own life!" Lindsay proclaimed confidently.

After their classes were over for the day, Shane took Lindsay back to her apartment and chatted more about the waitress job at Pete's Tavern. "Okay, Lindsay," we need you to look sexy for your interview with my boss Lenny, but not slutty. Come on, let's go to the second hand store and see what we can dress you in for your interview."

At the store they picked out a dress that would stop mid thigh on Lindsay, showing off her legs and a button up, short sleeve blouse that showed just enough cleavage, but not too much.

Back at the apartment, Lindsay modeled her outfit. Shane thought it was great, just missing something. Shane stood Lindsay in front of the mirror and stood beside her. She felt small standing next to Lindsay's five foot nine, compared to her five foot three. "What is missing, Lindsay?" Shane asked, thinking out loud.

"Hey, this is your idea, I have no idea."

Shane removed the pendant she had around her neck and told Lindsay to put it on.

Lindsay shrugged and slipped it over her neck.

"That's it! We got the look, come on, we're now going to get you hired."

As the two girls entered Pete's tavern, Shane's workplace, they received multiple stares.

Shane went to the girl behind the bar, "Ida, two beers and send Lenny out please."

Lenny came out and saw Shane standing at the bar with Lindsay and then his eyes went back to Shane briefly. Shane was his favorite bartender. She had a friendly personality, knew how to keep the guys from beating each other, up and above all she was honest. He took a second look at Lindsay and it did not escape his notice that she was a very tall, great looking girl and he started to get very curious about her.

"Shane, what brings you here? You're not normally here on your day off."

"Lenny, I wanted to introduce you to Lindsay, your new waitress."

"Am I looking for a waitress?"

"Yes you are, and she'll work on my shifts."

Actually, Lenny really was looking for a waitress. He looked at Lindsay, and thought to himself, _She sure as hell will keep the guys in here drinking_. "Okay, Lindsay, you're hired."

Lindsay was shocked, "Are you sure? You haven't asked about experience or qualifications."

"Honey, I looked at your legs, that's all the qualifications you need. You'll start tomorrow on Shane's shift."

Lindsay asked Shane to drive back to Stars Hollow with her and help her pack for her move. "Wait till I tell my mother. She is going to have a cow."

They were driving down Main Street and spotted Rory entering Luke's diner.

"Stop the truck!" Shane yelled.

Lindsay jammed on the brakes, tossing their text books all over the cab of the truck.

"What was that for, Shane?"

"You and I need a cup of coffee at Luke's Diner."

Lindsay parked the truck in front of the diner and near Doose's market. Taylor himself came out and wanted to know what the squealing of tires was, and told them they could not park their truck there.

Shane looked at him, and just gave him the finger. "I hate that pompous ass," she told Lindsay.

They entered the diner, "Look, Lindsay, Miss Thang's sitting at the counter. Why don't we join her so she won't be lonely?" Shane suggested mischievously. The girls walked up to the counter and Shane made sure Lindsay had the seat next to Rory. Rory looked over and suddenly turned white with fear.

Luke walked over to wait on the two girls and stopped short, "Look you two, we don't want any trouble in here."

"What trouble?" Shane said. "We just want to split a peach Danish and order two large coffees."

"Shane, you're nothing but trouble," Luke replied judgmentally.

"Am I? Name one incident, Luke," she responded, challenging him.

Rory interrupted, "Luke I can't stay. I just remembered I have to meet my mother at the inn."

Rory exited the diner and both girls noticed she did not pay, each simultaneously thinking she probably never did anyway.

"Well, Luke, I'm still waiting for you to name that _one _incident."

Luke scratched his head, desperately trying to remember at least one act that Shane committed he could accuse her of so that he'd have the satisfaction of putting her to shame.

"You can't think of anything, can you, Luke? Since I don't have all day to wait for your imaginary accusations, I can make it easy for you by telling you the one bad thing I've ever done in this town. I went out with your jerky, oversexed, under endowed nephew. Here's a pen. You can write that down if that's too hard for you to remember the next time I have to ask you that question."

Lindsay lost it, and so did the other patrons at the counter. Luke sheepishly gave them their Danish and coffees, and then walked away without uttering a word because he knew he couldn't compete with Shane's wit, she had a tongue that was even sharper than Lorelai's.

Lindsay turned to Shane, "Thanks for insisting we come in here and sit next to her. I really enjoyed making her feel uncomfortable." It was a feeling that was long overdue, she would never forget that day when she and her mother ran into Lorelai and Rory in town right after she'd found out Rory been fooling around with her husband. Her mother was furious and screamed at Lorelai and Rory enough for both of them, but she'd just stood there shaking, not having the courage to look Rory in the eye and she'd always regretted not being the one who told Rory off that day.

"So did I. I'm not saying she is an evil mean person, but I don't think she has a grasp of reality. Maybe it is about time someone brought her back to reality."

Shane asked Luke for the check and made sure she gave him a twenty percent tip, even though he was the owner. She explained to Lindsay that it was a bit of a dig to Luke, sort of to put him in his place.

The girls rode to Lindsay's house, where Lindsay broke the news to her mother. Lindsay's mother forbade it, and Lindsay reminded her she was over twenty one and her moving out was a _fact,_ not a question.

The girls loaded the truck with Lindsay's clothing and personal items that she wanted for her room. When the truck was loaded, Lindsay's mother came out and told her that she was making a mistake and she was no longer welcome to come back home.

Lindsay got behind the wheel and rested her head on her arms, "Shane why can't I catch a break? I thought she would wish me luck. She didn't mind me leaving home at eighteen when I was married. Now, she thinks because my marriage ended in divorce and I had to move back home that's she entitled to treat me like a baby for the rest of my life. She doesn't understand that I need to get out and grow up. She thinks I'm only entitled to do that if I get another husband first."

"Don't worry, Lindsay, you'll be fine," Shane replied sympathetically. "Would you mind stopping by my house on the way out? I want to grab something."

Upon arrival, Shane invited Lindsay into her house, where she introduced her to her mother Allison and Shane told her mother about what just happened between Lindsay and her mother.

Allison looked at the dejected girl with compassion and said to her, "Lindsay, my daughter is a pretty good judge of character, if you ever need to come back to Stars Hollow, you're more than welcome to stay here. I have an extra room."

Lindsay looked up at Shane's mother and thanked her and then asked, "How come you don't have a problem with Shane living away from you?"

"Being a mother is like being a bird, you have to teach them to fly and to leave. They cannot stay in the nest forever."

"So you don't miss her?"

"Of course I do! Why don't you two stay here tonight and drive back in the morning."

The next morning, the two girls fortified themselves with strong coffee bright and early and started their drive back to Norwich. Unfortunately, no interstates ran between Stars Hollow and Norwich and it was all back road, two lane driving, which gave them plenty of time to talk.

Lindsay was talking to Shane about how excited she was to be moving in with her and starting her new job. But she also wondered how in the hell she was going to do it. Then she shifted gears and asked Shane, "What did you mean about bringing Rory back to reality?"

"You know, Lindsay, she has never had something she loved taken away from her. For example, take your ex-husband. He _is_ hot, but I would never dream of hitting on him, no matter how much I liked him. To me, he would be a married man and I would have respected that."

"And, in my case, Lindsay, if Jess had come to me and said, 'look I don't think we are going to work and I think I may have feelings for someone else,' instead of stringing me along to the last minute and dumping me when he knew he was going to get Rory, that wouldn't have made me feel great…but at least I could have respected him more for leveling with me and not being so sneaky. But if you ask me, Rory was even more devious than he was during that whole fiasco. Here she was, stringing Dean and Jess both along, until I showed up and she knew she couldn't keep fantasizing about having two boyfriends and finally had to make up her mind, so she decided to screw Dean and me both out of what we had to suit her own self-seeking interests."

"Well, she could have told Dean that she didn't want anything to do with him unless we got a divorce, but she thinks she's a princess and is entitled to whatever she wants. And I just can't believe how she broke you and Jess up when she already had Dean. I'm sure her picture is next to the word 'selfish' in the dictionary," Lindsay commented bitterly.

"Lindsay, my father is in the merchant marine. My mother and I do not see him all that often, but we do not expect anyone to feel sorry for us. Yes, Lorelai had Rory when she was sixteen and ran away from home and made something of herself, but why does that make Rory anymore special than the rest of us? They almost always conveniently forget to mention how her grandparents have bank rolled almost all of Rory's education. If we had Daddy Warbucks for a grandpa, I guess that'd make us special too," Shane said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Shane, that's true about her grandparents, but she is a good student and got herself accepted to Yale. I'll give her that much," Lindsay relented with a sigh.

"So what, Lindsay? You're a good student who also played varsity athletics. I'm sure there must have been some colleges that were interested in you."

"They were Shane, but I would've had to leave Dean, so I turned down all their offers."

"You know, Lindsay, I don't think Rory is actually not a bad person. She just needs to be knocked off her high horse and stop expecting everything she wants is going to be hers."

"What do you mean Shane?"

"Lindsay, I wish we could have the opportunity to take something from her, the way she took something away from both of us.

"What do you mean Shane?"

"Lindsay, I am not sure, but if the opportunity ever arises we should take advantage of it."

Lindsay sat there quietly pondering her dislike of Rory Gilmore. "Shane things have a habit of leveling out, let's keep our eyes open."

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Two

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean, Jess and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

Shane's wheels kept turning, but she kept silent on "Operation Princess Downsize" for the rest of the ride. Right now, she knew Lindsay had to start focusing on her new job at Pete's Tavern. Their shift started at noon, and Shane was going to do what it took to make sure that Lindsay was ready to start her new job. She not only needed to ensure Lindsay succeeded to help her with the rent, but she considered her a great friend to hang out with, and looked forward to them rooming together. Her last roommate was constantly in and out, and whenever she actually was at the apartment, spent most of the time closed up in her room, talking to her mother or boyfriend on the phone, so it was almost like living with no one at all, making Shane's existence very lonely.

Since they'd only had gulped down coffee before they left and had time to spare before they started their shift, they decided to stop off in Colchester for breakfast.

"Pull in here, Lindsay," Shane instructed, pointing to a restaurant called Diane's. "This place has the best pancakes in Connecticut. I always order their banana pecan pancakes – they're out of this world. If you're not into pancakes, though, they have some pretty terrific waffles and a house breakfast casserole, made with maple sausage and hash browns, that'll knock your socks off."

"That's okay, Shane, I think you talked me into trying the banana pecan pancakes. That one sounds like a winner to me."

"Hey, Shane," a friendly dark haired seating hostess, in her mid thirties, greeted, "got school today?"

"Nah, I'm off from school, today, but I'm working later. Debbie, this is my friend, Lindsay. She's from Stars Hollow and goes to Three River college, too, and she's gonna be my new roommate."

"Oh, is she going to be sharing the apartment with you and Heather?"

"Actually, Heather moved to Groton about a month ago to move in with her boyfriend who's in the navy."

"Well, that's good news, then. She didn't exactly sound like someone I'd want to live with, so I'm glad it all worked out for you. I just know you're going to be glad you decided to move in with Shane, Lindsay. She's a lot of fun and has a good ear to listen to you whenever life's getting you down."

"I feel pretty lucky," Lindsay agreed. "I just made a sudden decision to move out of my house yesterday and I was a little nervous, but I think I'm gonna be pretty glad I did."

Debbie sat them at a booth and handed them breakfast menus and sent the waitress over to bring them coffee.

"Sooo…" Lindsay said, dying to continue their conversation about getting even with Rory, "have you come up with any plans to teach Stars Hollow's princess a lesson, yet?"

"Mmm… I've considered a couple of things, but I want us to focus on getting you comfortable for your first day of work at Pete's Tavern today. The good news is that I'll be there with you today since I told Lenny to put us together on all our shifts. Plus, I've had plenty of waitressing experience, on top of my bartending, so I think I'll ask Lenny to let me train you. I'm a pretty good teacher, Lindsay, I don't believe in making people nervous when they're just starting out at a new job. You just stick with me today and listen to what I tell you and you'll be fine. I already know with your looks you're going to earn a lot of tips, so I can tell you, you're really going to enjoy yourself and don't let anybody tell you that being a waitress is a meaningless job. What's great about being a waitress or a bartender is that it's portable – you can go anywhere you want to go in the country with our kind of jobs and that is freedom like you wouldn't believe."

Lindsay was relieved that Shane had decided to have this little talk with her. She actually was nervous about her first day of work. She felt like her whole future could rise or fall on what happened today. If she couldn't cut it at work, that'd mean she couldn't stay with Shane and start having the independence she craved.

She thought it was extremely nice that Shane's mother had taken pity on her and offered her a place to stay in her home when she visited Stars Hollow., but she knew she couldn't stay with Shane's mother forever and probably wouldn't want to if she was going there simply because she'd gotten fired from her new job.

She took a bite of banana pecan pancakes and decided to abolish all negative thoughts, remembering how both Shane and Lenny had told her that she'd have the guy customers eating out of her hand, because of her looks and she looked forward to making a lot of tips today. It was certainly going to be a great feeling to earn her own money, instead of having to beg someone like her mother or Dean, when they were married.

After breakfast, they made the rest of the drive back to Norwich, and they got back home around ten, giving them plenty of time to get ready for work. Shane threw on her favorite pair of faded jeans and pulled on a leopard print top that really made her blonde hair pop. Lindsay decided to to capitalize on her legginess, but to try and remain respectable at the same time, so she went with her black leather skirt, a pair of black pumps and pulled on a pair of jet black stockings and finished off her outfit with a crisp white cotton, ruffled blouse and a pair of white bauble earrings.

"Ready, roommate?" Shane called out cheerfully. She liked having a roommate who was also a good friend and better still, they'd get to work together, too. She had a feeling that she and Lindsay were going to become a force to be reckoned with.

"Ready, roommate!" Lindsay answered just as cheerfully as they started to leave the apartment for their jobs.

Lenny was waiting for both of them when they arrived at the tavern. He'd come up with the same idea that Shane had come up with earlier, letting her train Lindsay. Before she'd become head bartender, Shane used to pitch in now and again when the waitresses called in sick and she'd also trained a few of them, so he figured Shane was the best choice for showing her the ropes, especially since Lindsay didn't seem to have any work experience and her and Shane were friends.

"Oh, hey, ladies, I'm glad you're both here. Shane, I want you to train Lindsay today. Since we're in the middle of the busiest time of day, maybe you could get her started around two. In the meantime, Lindsay, you can help us out by answering the phone and taking reservations from the customers for tonight."

"Great minds think alike, Lenny. I was gonna suggest training Lindsay myself and I think it's a great idea to wait 'til we slow down a little. I'll get Lindsay settled in the office with the phone and reservation book and show her where the time clock is."

"Thanks, Shane, you're the best!"

"So are you, Lenny, I've never had a better boss yet," she said back, throwing him a wink and a smile. She loved charming Lenny because she knew he was a harmless, middle-aged man who was very happily married and loved his wife and five children very much and would never try to turn her flirtations into anything perverted.

Luckily for Lindsay, the phone was fairly quiet. She only had to take a total of five reservations from 12:30 to 2:00 and the restaurant had pretty much cleared out by the time Shane came to get her to start training on the tables.

"We're pretty empty right now, Lindsay. Most of the restaurant's cleared out, so why don't you come sit up at the bar and I'll wait on the next five tables that come in and you can follow me while I go through each step of the process, then I'll hand over the order pad and apron to you and let you drive, but I'll stay with you so you don't get too nervous."

About ten minutes later, an elderly man and woman came in and were seated by the hostess and Shane came over to their table to ask them if they'd like something to drink. They asked for two diet Pepsis and she wrote them down on her pad and went over to the bar and poured them up for the customers. When she returned with the drinks, she asked the couple if they were ready to order and the man asked for a cheeseburger and the woman asked for a ham and cheese on rye. She wrote down their orders and table number and took Lindsay back to the kitchen with her to show her where to post the order tickets. Then she took Lindsay with her back over to the bar and they waited for the chef, Oscar, to ring the bell in the order window to let them know it was ready. The bell rang, and Shane picked up the sandwiches and put them on a tray to take to the customer's table. She asked them if they needed anything else and the woman asked for mustard, so Shane took Lindsay with her to show her where the condiments were kept and asked Lindsay to take it over to their table.

"Well, Martha, it looks like we got us two waitresses today," the older man chuckled good-naturedly.

"Umm-hmm," his wife noted, glad to get the mustard for her sandwich so quickly.

"Today's actually my first day and I'm in training," Lindsay replied enthusiastically.

"Well, I'm sure you'll do just fine, honey," he said making an effort to encourage her because he could tell she was a sweet girl.

"Thank you, sir," she responded, "that means a lot to have my first customers tell me that."

The afternoon dragged on and by three-thirty, Shane and Lindsay had only waited on four tables. Lindsay was somewhat relieved, but disappointed because she really needed to start collecting tips and she didn't feel like she'd be entitled to any of the tip money until Shane started letting her take over with the tables.

Lindsay got to wait on her first table at four-thirty; three guys came in and ordered 3 Budweisers, a plate of baby-back ribs, a shell steak medium rare and a deluxe cheeseburger platter. These guys were young, early twenties, and certainly didn't mind having two beautiful blondes waiting on them. In fact, one of them flirted with Lindsay almost to the point of rudeness. When they left, they double-tipped and Lindsay started to hand Shane her half, but she insisted Lindsay keep the entire tip. Lindsay noted that the three customers were full of themselves and one of them had on a Yale sweatshirt.

By the end of the day, Lindsay's tips totaled $37.50. Not bad for the first day, but not great either. Shane congratulated her on a job well done and pointed out that Thursdays were always slow days at the tavern and that she should expect to do much better on her next shift, especially since she'd be working the tables on her own the next time around.

They decided to stop by Papa Gino's Pizzeria and split a well done, medium pepperoni pizza with extra cheese, and share a pitcher of ice cold beer.

"This pizza reminds me of Rory," Lindsay said after she took her first bite.

"A pizza reminds you of Rory? How so?" Shane asked puzzledly, not making a connection between Rory and pizza at all, but curious to hear what Lindsay had to say.

"Rory had broken up with Dean a few months earlier and my friends and I were out one night, coming back from the mall, when we spotted this humongous pizza being lowered into the town square with a crane. We asked what was going on and someone in the crowd told us Rory was hosting a birthday party for her mother and that everyone in town was invited to have free pizza, so we parked the car and went to check it out. That's when Dean spotted me and struck up a conversation with me and told me he'd been wanting to talk to me for a while, but had never gotten up the nerve to. He asked me if he could come over to my house the next day and I told him sure and when he came over the next day and met my family, they fell instantly fell in love with him and told me I'd better make sure to not let him get away. I think it's ironic that we probably started dating because of Rory and she's also the reason we broke up," Lindsay said, teary-eyed, not knowing which emotion to cling to, sentimentality or anger.

Seeing Lindsay's tears strengthened Shane's resolve to find the perfect way to make Rory finally understand that she was not entitled to have everything she wanted in life automatically, especially if it meant disregarding other peoples' feelings to get it. From what Shane observed, despite being a product of an out-of-wedlock, teen birth, Rory Gilmore had been fawned on and spoiled from the moment the doctor had slapped her bottom in the hospital and even then, her mother, Lorelai, had probably yelled at the doctor for slapping her precious little child. In between waiting on tables with Lindsay today, she'd been chewing on a scenario that she thought she'd go ahead and run past Lindsay now.

"Ready for another slice, Linds?" Shane asked.

"Sure, I'm starving."

"Say, Linds, know anything about any upcoming festivals in Stars Hollows?"

"You might as well ask when there _isn't_ going to be a festival in Stars Hollow. It seems like they have one practically every weekend; in fact, this weekend they're having their infamous _Stars Holloween Festival._ Why do you ask, Shane?"

"I think maybe we should go to it, Linds, and see if little Miss Rory shows up with a boyfriend."

"Then what are we going to do, Shane?"

"Figure out which one of us can tempt him, take him, break her heart, and then dump him."

Lindsay laughed, "Boy, you're cold hearted!"

"Linds, I did not see her taking our feelings in account when she latched onto our men."

"Well, I guess we can try and give it a shot, Shane, but before I forget, I have a question about a completely different topic."

"Shoot."

"How many rude a**holes do you get in that place like the blonde guy we waited on today? You know, the one who was wearing the Yale sweatshirt and came in with that mouthy British guy and that other bone head? He was lewd and a lot of his comments were borderline crude."

"Actually, usually not too many, Shane, if you have a problem during the day, just get Lenny, at night get one of the bouncers. Lenny does not want any crap going on in his place and he protects his help."

"Shane that makes me feel better, I am not really used to guys coming on to me like that."

"Lindsay it will all be fine. Let's go back to the apartment and get some rest."

* * *

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Three

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean, Jess and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

**Two weeks later…**

Shane and Lindsay clicked, they got along at work and home, the only thing that did not work out, was they could not really swap clothes, as Lindsay was six inches taller. They also fell into the habit of driving to Stars Hollow once a week. Shane was amazed at how well the old truck ran and Lindsay was in the process of teaching her how to drive a standard shift.

Shane really enjoyed learning how to drive the "Beast," as she called it. Shane was used to driving sub compact automatics. When Lindsay took the truck off the road and used the four wheel drive it was a blast.

They had the Friday night shift at Pete's, and the crowd was moderate. A mixture, of college students, sailors from the sub base in Groton, and some construction workers left over from happy hour. There weren't too many girls yet. They usually started showing up about 10 pm.

Shane noticed it first…three guys walking in that did not fit the usual customer profile. They took an unoccupied table and one walked up to the bar. "Hey, give me a pitcher of Budweiser and three glasses."

"If you're going to sit at a table, your waitress will be right with you and you can just order through her," Shane replied matter-of-factly.

The customer ran his hand through his blonde hair, and said, "Look, here's a twenty, just give it to me and I will use the waitress whenever she gets around to serving us".

Shane could see Lindsay approaching the bar and replied, "Sure," then poured the pitcher, got the three glasses and handed them to Lindsay on a tray and said, "The beer is for this guy at that table," and she pointed to the table near the back of the room, then took the twenty and stuck it in her bra. She turned to the customer and looked him straight in the eye, "Your waitress will bring it right over to you."

Lindsay took the pitcher to the table, as she was being followed by the customer, and placed it on his table.

"Your bartender buddy is a bit snarky isn't she?" he commented to Lindsay.

"Not really, and that will be $7.50 by the way," Lindsay replied.

"No way, I gave her a twenty," he protested.

"That was for you being a bit arrogant and not waiting your turn."

The two guys at the table started laughing, "Hey, they got you, let it go and let's drink!"

Lindsay returned to the bar and told Shane she had charged them for the pitcher.

"You're kidding, Lindsay. I was going to take it out of this twenty…you're getting as bad as me."

Lindsay laughed,"Nah, they're arrogant pricks; they were in here a couple of weeks ago and deserve what they get."

Shane reached into her bra and said,"Give it back to them. Make yourself a hero."

Lindsay walked back to the table and handed the blonde man back his twenty. "I talked her into giving it back to you, you're lucky." She then turned away to wait on a table that was frantically waving their arms.

"You know, Logan, that waitress is one good looking broad. I haven't seen legs like that in a long time," Finn observed lustfully.

Finn then added, "The girl behind the bar is also a looker. Maybe we should start stopping here more often."

Logan didn't respond to Finn because Lindsay's looks had hijacked his focus completely. _She would really look good on my arm_, he thought_._ Then he fantasized about how exquisite she'd look lying naked in his bed and made up his mind that he was going to get her.

He was going to keep it to himself as he knew that Finn and Colin tended to run their mouths when drinking and that was most of their waking moments.

Logan saw Lindsay approaching and stood up to block her way. Lindsay stopped, "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you."

Lindsay swept her arm around the fast filling up bar, "Don't you see I am kind of busy?"

"So what? You can spare me a few minutes."

Lindsay stepped around Logan and told him, "I can't spare you anything. There's another waitress taking over this table in about five minutes. Maybe you can talk _her_ into wasting some of her precious time, but not me."

Logan grabbed her arm, "Look, talk to me for a few minutes, baby."

Lindsay shook her arm free. "You see that big guy by the door? Next time you put your hands on me, I'm going to yell and you'll be splattered all over the pavement when he throws your sorry ass out the door. And by the way, when I yell, I usually swing at the same time." She then gave Logan a sharp shove, which knocked him back into his table and she walked away muttering _A**hole, _under her breath.

Lindsay walked up to the bar to place her next order. Shane was running around like mad trying to keep up with the two waitresses, plus the bar crowd. "Linds, what's your order, hon?"

"Three Miller Lites."

Shane shrugged a shoulder toward a cooler, "Go grab them, we'll figure it out later, and I wonder where the hell Lenny is."

Lindsay grabbed the beers, and delivered her order to three girls who were out celebrating one of their divorces. She liked being a waitress more than she thought she would. Most of the customers were polite. A lot of them were interesting, especially the older ones that came in for lunch when she worked an afternoon shift. On Friday nights the place was a meat market. She kind of wished her skirt was a few inches longer, but she was relieved the other waitress, Tiffany, was coming in at any moment to start her 9 p.m. shift and would be helping her out with some of her tables, including the one where the three jerks from Yale were sitting at.

Shane was looking forward to getting off of work that night and going home to relax. She was so happy that Lindsay and she hit it off. It helped that they were from the same town and knew a lot of the same people. She did think it was a bit curious that in a town as small as Stars Hollow she could not remember ever speaking a word to her, even though they'd attended the same high school for four years. The school was not that big. Shane spoke to Lindsay's ex husband Dean several times, and thought him to be a very nice guy. She wondered how he could cheat on Lindsay with Rory Gilmore. It didn't make sense to her.

A voice saying, "Come on, Shane, get with it," snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked over her shoulder and saw Lenny staring at her with a big grin on his face. He loved teasing Shane every chance he could get.

"Lenny you're an hour late and we're swamped, so can it!"

Lenny chuckled, "People would think you run this place the way you talk to me," he said in an overly exaggerated threatening tone of voice, but this was the kind of banter him and Shane traded back and forth all the time. He honestly did not like to think of Shane ever quitting, even though he knew it was going to happen eventually when she finished up with school. She was the best bartender he'd ever had and Lindsay was turning into one of his most valuable waitresses. Both of them were good, honest and all the guys liked them. Business had picked up quite a bit since he'd hired these two.

Tiffany, an attractive brunette waitress, approached Logan's table to check up on him, "Can I get you another pitcher?"

"Sure and three shots of Tequilia. By the way, who was the other waitress that had my table earlier?"

"Oh, that's Lindsay," she responded and then she walked off to fill their order.

"Hey, Logan, you getting the hots for the tall blonde?" Colin asked.

"Nah, just curious, she's a real bitch and I want to find out why," Logan answered, concealing his true intentions.

Despite striking out with Lindsay, Logan was thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere of this quaint, New England tavern and he really liked the eclectic crowd of people that came to this place because it was a change of pace from the same type of faces he saw day in and day out at the Yale campus. The first time he and the guys had stopped here, it was on their way home from a road trip to Mystic, this time, when they came back to Pete's Tavern, Logan lied and told Colin and Finn he felt like getting out of town again, but the real reason he wanted to return to Pete's Tavern was to look for Lindsay. He glanced across the room and saw his new waitress coming back with their order. She placed the drinks on the table and Logan reached into his wallet and paid her. Then he put an extra twenty in her hand and asked, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

She looked down at the twenty and smiled. "Sure, I have a minute," she replied, this guy was cute and she hoped he felt the same way about her.

"What do you know about the other waitress that was serving our table before you came on?"

"Not much," she responded dryly, realizing yet another good looking guy was asking about Lindsay and not interested in her either, but at least this one was paying her to answer his questions so decided to cooperate. "Her name is Lindsay Lister and she started here a few weeks ago. I believe she goes to Three Rivers Community College and rooms with the bartender, Shane."

Logan looked at her with frustration, hoping she'd have more than just that to tell him. "Is that _all_ you know about her? I just paid you good money to get information and if I wanted details like that, I could have just googled it and gotten all that for free."

"Look dude, not for nothing, but she and I are not exactly palsey-walsey. When she's working the same shift as me and comes in here flashing those legs of hers, I wait on an almost empty section. And I am not exactly a dog. That chick should be out working as model somewhere, instead of running around in this dive competing against me for tips."

Logan started at the waitress and almost thought about switching gears. This one was pretty and shapely and had long dark hair and sparkly coffee colored eyes, but she was no Lindsay. Suddenly, Logan's resolve was stronger than ever to get with Lindsay.

Lindsay was at the bar talking to Shane. "That was a nice rush of business the past couple of hours. I think I made plenty of money."

"I think so too, Linds, I know I did, and my ass is worn out."

An hour later, closing time was approaching and the bar was thinning out. Lindsay looked over and saw that the three guys who gave her a hard time were gone and the waitresses were getting a couple of stragglers to leave. Lenny believed in a carrot instead of a stick, so he did not use his doorman / bouncer to clear them out. Usually a pretty girl asking the guys to leave as a favor to her worked very well.

Once everyone was cleared out of there, Lenny had the staff sit while he gave them all a beer before they had to start cleaning the place up. He believed in giving them a break. They all drank mostly in silence, exhausted from the night. Lenny made a couple of comments on how well they did. The tips were divided up and they started to clean the place up as quickly as possible so they could get out and go home. As usual at the end of a Friday night, the tavern was a complete disaster area. The bathrooms were a filthy, smelly mess, bottles and dumped ashtrays were strewn all over the bar and tables, and the floors were littered with trash and food particles. All the staff pitched in to tidy up, and within the hour, the bar was restocked and no one would ever be able to tell the next day what a pig sty the place had been the night before.

Lindsay and Shane got home and grabbed a couple of beers. "Shane, the only time I do not like how this place is decorated is at night when we come home from work. It is too bright and cheerful to look at when I'm this exhausted. Hey, you remember me asking you about those a**holes that came in the first day I worked?"

"Sort of, Linds."

Well, anyway, Shane they were back, acting just as arrogant as they did the last time."

"Did you handle it?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Good, are you ready to go to the _Stars Holloween Festival_ tomorrow, Linds?"

"You bet I am, it should be a lot of fun. Do you think our BFF will make an appearance?"

"I'm sure our BFF and her mother will both be being making an appearance. They've never been known to miss a Stars Hollow festival yet."

"Well, we probably will see them, but you don't want me to tell you what my version of BFF stands for, but the fact that there's a B and two F's in that abbreviation should give you some clue as to what I'd come up with," Lindsay laughed mischievously and then told Shane goodnight before she turned in for the evening.

Shane was the first one to wake the next morning. She looked at the glowing green numbers on her alarm clock and saw the time was ten thirty, quickly calculating that she'd had seven hours of sleep. Shane figured she would let Lindsay sleep while she did her homework for the weekend. She hated to do it at the last minute. Lindsay was the same way. Shane put on a pot of coffee and started on her school work. Lindsay wandered out of her room about eleven, grabbed some coffee and sat down at the table without a word and started in on her school work, too. By one o'clock, both girls were done and knew they could now relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

"Shane, are we going to do the costume thing and all that?"

"Linds, let's go as bartenders," she laughed. "Actually, I just want to go home and grab a big plastic traveling coffee cup full of a Vodka Collins and watch the freaks on parade."

Lindsay threw her pen in the air, "Whoopee, I am all for that. I'm going to go as a Dean's ex-wife."

"You're nuts," Shane laughed. She was so glad to see that Lindsay was losing her sadness and was really starting to have fun.

"Lindsay, flip you for the shower."

"Go ahead, Shane, I am going to call down to the bar and have them make us up some sandwiches we can take for the ride."

"Great idea, Linds! Could you have them make me a ham and Swiss on pumpernickel with lots of mustard and tell them to throw in a pickle and some potato chips, please?"

On their way out of town, they entered the tavern and saw Lenny was tending bar. The place only had a couple of customers, and Lenny was watching a college football game on the TV. Without a word, Lenny pointed to a large brown paper bag waiting for them on the bar.

Shane went over and picked it up, it was heavy so she looked inside and saw there was a six pack of Budweiser on the bottom, underneath the sandwiches. "Lenny what do we owe you for this?"

"Go away, Shane, you're bothering me, and take your friend with you."

Lindsay started to say, "But Lenny..."

"Go away, Lindsay, can't you see I'm busy?" Lenny ordered, pretending to be grumpy about having his game interrupted, but it was really his own crude way of telling them that the food and beers were on him.

The girls looked at each other and shrugged and walked out. "Okay, Shane, you're driving us there, you're ready for your road test."

"You know Linds, Lenny is a good guy, that was nice of him to not make us pay for our food and to throw in those beers, too."

"Uh-huh, that _was_ nice of him. I guess Rory's not the only one who doesn't always have to pay for her food," Lindsay laughed and flipped Shane the keys, "All right, let's get the show on the road.

The girls unwrapped their sandwiches and Shane started the truck and with a somewhat jerky start got them underway. "Lindsay, how do I eat, steer and shift this thing at the same time?"

Lindsay laughed, "Wait till you get out of town and it will be easy, all you need is just a little bit of coordination."

Once on the open road, the traffic was light and it was a beautiful fall afternoon. The girls rolled down the window and Shane looked around, "Linds, let's split a beer. This afternoon calls for one."

Lindsay knew if she said no, Shane would not have a problem with it, but she had to agree with Shane. It was a golden afternoon, with the wind blowing into the truck, blowing their hair wildly just begged for a beer. It was moments of sheer exhilaration, fleeting moments you knew you would remember forever.

They arrived in Stars Hollow, refreshed, relaxed and ready to have a good time. They drove up to Shane's house, parked in front and entered. Shane's mother looked at the two girls' wild hair and flushed faces. "What have you two been up to, and what are you going to do?"

"Well, Allison, Shane did the whole drive and is now officially checked out to drive my truck without me."

Allison looked out the window, "You can drive that thing now?"

"Sure, Mom, look we are going to walk downtown and check out the _Stars Holloween Festival."_ Shane went and made two drinks in large plastic coffee cups, and popped the lids on for their walk.

"Look you two, stay out of trouble, and have fun."

The closer the girls got to the town square, the more apparent the nuttiness of Stars Hollow became. Lindsay wondered what it was about this town that made it embarrass itself every time there was a holiday. She had mentioned that to Shane one time, and Shane said she ought to relax and enjoy it.

"Hold on, Shane, let's grab a bag of candy so we can pass it out to some of these kids that are running around, and what in the hell did you put in these drinks?"

Shane laughed, "It's one of my trade secret recipes, but make sure you sip it slowly, Lindsay, or I will be scraping you off the sidewalk. Hey, the candy thing is a good idea."

As they got to the square, all the pageantry of Stars Hollow was on display. A hay wagon, pumpkins everywhere you looked, and all the stores were decked out for Halloween with displays of witches and goblins and the other symbols of Halloween and Main Street was filled with costumed revelers. It seemed like everything in sight, but the two of them and Luke's diner, was decorated for Halloween.

They had walked to the far side of the square when Shane noticed Lindsay go quiet. Shane looked over and there was Dean about twenty feet away with Lindsay staring intently at him.

Dean looked up from the exterior electrical outlet he was fixing and spied Lindsay looking at him. She was stunningly beautiful standing there. Her hair was wildly tossed from the wind, her faced slightly flushed. She looked so beautiful, so innocent, she was his, he had that, and he threw it away.

Lindsay looked at Dean, the man she once loved with all her heart, the only man she'd ever given herself to. He looked somehow lonely and she almost felt sorry for him, but then her thoughts led her back to all the misery and pain his unfaithfulness had caused her, making her wonder yet again how many times he'd come home to her and her kisses, after he'd left his mistress. Were his lips even cooled from her kisses when she kissed him? How long after him and Rory had made love did he slip into _her_ bed?

Shane looked into Lindsay's eyes and expected tears, she knew how much she had loved him. Instead of tears she saw hate. She never knew that Lindsay's soft brown eyes could project so much hate. Shane put her hand on Lindsay's arm and said, "Let's go, Linds."

They turned and walked away and Shane asked Lindsay if she was okay. Lindsay looked down at her friend. "I'm fine, Shane. I thought I would break into tears like I usually do, but this time was different. I realized it was nothing I did. I was a good wife. He blew it."

"You can say that again, Linds, I saw the way he looked at you. He knew he blew it long before you ever did. I'm sorry you had to see him today when we're out here trying to have crazy fun. Come on, let's get back to the center of the square and see what is going on, seeing these nuts can take your mind off of anything fast."

Lindsay started laughing, "Oh, Shane, you're right about that, look at Miss Patty parading around in that bright purple tutu."

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Shane laughed at full volume, "That porky bimbo is a whole dance troupe in one person. I could have gone to my grave and hoped I would never see a scene like this. Hey, Linds, there is Lorelai Gilmore. She is Robin Hood."

"I bet she made that herself. Lorelai was a talented seamstress. I remember her making costumes for the school play a few times before Rory went off to private school."

"Hey, Shane, any idea who the guy is with her?"

"It's not Luke, so I guess they may be in one of their so called time outs or whatever makes that relationship work," Shane quipped astutely.

"You know, Shane, it is like what Rory did to Dean, used him till someone more interesting came along and then dumped him. She did it twice to him and I would not be surprised if she did it a third time. I hope Dean is too smart for that. I really do not like him right now, but he was too good of a guy for that crap."

"Lindsay, I wonder where Rory is, I just know she is here somewhere."

"Who cares, Shane, come on we were having fun, let's figure out some way to reload these cups and continue on."

They walked into the Stars Hollow Log Cabin Pub, and ordered two drinks. The bartender took one look at them and said. "Look ladies, the drinks are not going to wind up in those cups so if you want them, you have to drink them at the bar."

Shane looked at the bartender in his ridiculous Green Hornet costume with fake abs, She slapped a ten on the bar on top of the money they had already given for the drinks. Looking at him with her big baby blue eyes and batting her long lashes, she tried to look as innocent as she possibly could and said, "Please go pick up that beer can over there."

The bartender smiled and turned and went for the beer can. Quick as a flash, the girls dumped the contents of their drinks into their cups and left.

Lindsay was laughing "You're so evil, Shane!"

"Hey, I have to live up to my reputation I have in this town. Although, some of the reputation I have I don't deserve. I never even slept with anyone till I was out of high school."

"Shane, I'll admit I did used to hear things about you at school sometimes, but that isn't why I never talked to you. I really wish we did know each other when were in school, I bet you were a lot of fun to be friends with back then, too."

"Lindsay, I dared to be different, I dressed different, I acted different and I stood up for myself. I guess that translated into me being branded somewhat a slut, plus dating that idiot Jess did not do my reputation any good. What a surly ass. That is the only thing I regret in my life. I was used by him. Set up and crapped on."

"Hey look, Shane, there is Rory, she is dressed like…oh you have to be kidding me- like a princess."

She has some guy with her, I wonder who he is. I can't really tell what he looks like in that costume and mask and all. I think he is trying to be a poor imitation of Sir Walter Raleigh."

Lindsay and Shane were walking on a collision course with Rory and her date. They met at a curb by the traffic light. "Hey, Sir Walter" Lindsay called out, aren't you going to lay your cloak in front of your lady, so she doesn't get her feet wet?"

Rory's date turned to Lindsay and started to say something, and stopped with his mouth open, and just stared for a minute. Rory urged her date,"Come on, don't pay any attention to them."

Lindsay and Shane looked at their retreating backs. Well, Linds, you can add _no sense of humor_ to the long list of all her other _admirable_ traits."

Lindsay was quietly staring at them, deep in thought. "Shane there is something familiar about him. I know I've somehow met him someplace."

"Come on, Lindsay, Rory's escorts do not really travel in our circle. She has already tried out our guys and moved on."

"No, Shane, I have met him, I just don't know where."

"What do you say, Lindsay, let's call it a night and go back to my mom's, have a toddy with her and get a good night's sleep, then take her out to breakfast in the morning."

"Sounds good to me."

The next morning Shane, Lindsay, and Allison were having breakfast at a back table in Luke's diner. They asked for one order of pancakes and sausage, one omelet with American cheese and a side of home fries and a huge mound of toast and then shared the dishes between them. They liked to keep it simple, no sense in confusing the waitress with a multi layered order.

Shane pointed with her fork, "Hey look, it's Lorelai and some guy."

"You know, I have always wondered how she brings her men in here and then goes out with Luke for the next year or so?" Allison genuinely wondered.

"I don't know, Mom, maybe she is good at...

"Shane, don't go there, watch your thoughts and mouth."

"Oh come on, Mom, I was just kidding around."

Lindsay interjected, "You know if Lorelai is here Rory should be along shortly."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Rory entered with a man. Lindsay stiffened, "Oh shit, you got to be kidding me."

Allison looked at Lindsay, she was a bit surprised that Lindsay used a curse word, not that she cared, she could curse with the best of them, but it was so out of character for her.

"Kidding about what, Lindsay?"

"Shane, it's that a**hole from the bar. He is Rory's date, escort, or whatever you want to call it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

They watched them settle in and place their order. Rory's escort looked over at them and turned a bit white and averted his gaze.

"I think you're right, Lindsay."

The weeks Lindsay had worked at Pete's had changed her, she now had a confidence and _finally_ realized what effect she had on men. She had on one of the dresses she used for work over a pair of shorts, "Come on, let's pay the bill and get out of here. It's on me," Lindsay offered.

Shane looked at her, she knew something was up, just not what was up. They paid the bill and walked out single file with Lindsay going last. When she came abreast of the Gilmore table she dropped a fork she had in her hand. She turned and bent over stiff legged right in front of Logan, picked up the fork and turned and looked him straight in the eye, "Sorry, I dropped my fork." He was beet red, and Rory was looking at him asking what his problem was. As she walked away, she heard Rory berating him and happened to overhear her say what his first name was. "You are with _me_, Logan! You don't need to be looking at some loose girl with no morals showing off like that," Rory said sternly to Logan. She was extremely jealous of any other girl Logan looked at besides her, but she was also scared to death that Lindsay could spill the beans on her and very easily tell Logan the truth about her sleeping with a married man right before they'd started dating. Then he'd know _she_ was really the loose girl with no morals, so Rory wanted to make Lindsay look bad before she had a chance to make her look bad.

_Loose girl with no morals_? Lindsay almost turned around to go back in the diner to confront Rory for dissing her like that, but she knew it would be a mistake and somehow she would come out being the bad guy if she did.

Shane looked at her with admiration."Linds, that was some performance. That was pretty daring, bending over in that skirt like that, and I don't believe you did not go back in there and slap her."

Lindsay turned red, I don't believe I did that either, thank God I was wearing shorts under this thing. Otherwise, he would have had a hell of a show."

Lindsay's mom was confused; she knew something happened, but not quite what. "What did I miss?"

"Come on, Mom, we will explain it at home.

They hung around Shane's house for a while and filled in Allison on what happened.

"Mom, we have to be getting back. We have to work tonight, good thing it is a short night."

Allison bade them goodbye and told them to be careful.

The afternoon was like the previous one, but the girls were relaxed and the sound of the radio was all they needed.

"Shane, that was something that the idiot from Friday night turns out to be Rory's date. I wonder if he'll be back at Pete's?"

Shane turned to her friend. "You can bet on it, and I think it will be pretty soon. You have that guy bewitched."

Lindsay was lost in thought. I wonder if I can take him away from Rory?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know like we talked about, bring her back to reality. Have her feel the pain of having her man stolen from her. Make her wonder if she was adequate. Make her wonder what the other girl had that caused her to be flung aside. You know how low I felt about myself for so long? How long I blamed myself? Seeing Dean yesterday and then seeing Rory again looking like she doesn't have a worry in the world after she broke up our marriage, and then move onto another guy after she did it, really makes me want her to feel all those doubts I felt about myself."

Shane turned to her friend, "I was nowhere near you in my love for Jess as you were for Dean, but I think I know what you mean. I was used. She even came into where I worked and talked to me like I was a piece of trash. Lindsay he will be back, if I know anything about men he will be back."

Lindsay turned her gaze from the road, "I know and I will get him."

* * *

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Four

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean, Jess, Logan, Finn and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

**A few weeks later…**

Shane and Lindsay met up for lunch after morning classes and suddenly recalled their conversation coming home from Stars Hollow and Lindsay's plans to snag Logan.

"Linds, that Logan guy hasn't come back to Pete's yet. What do you think is up with that?"

"I don't know. It's typical, when you don't want a man around he's usually a pain in your ass. When you do want them to come around, they vanish into thin air," Lindsay replied before she took a bite of her autumn salad. Loaded with apples and walnuts, sprinkled with feta cheese and doused in raspberry vinaigrette, the autumn salad was her favorite item on the school's dining room menu.

"Mmm…" Shane mused, "maybe Princess Rory got to him that day when they saw you at Luke's diner. I don't picture a guy like that letting a chick like her push him around, but maybe she's got him whipped like she did with our guys."

"I guess that mother of hers taught her well. Look at how she's been able to keep a leash on Luke all these years while she runs around and does exactly what she wants to."

On Thursday of that same week, Lindsay was coming out of her Elementary Math Education class when she spotted a familiar looking figure, dressed in a classy looking Burberry trench coat, sitting on a bench in front of the college library. Slowly, she realized it was Logan sitting there. She thought it was an odd place to run into him by coincidence and almost avoided him, but realized if she didn't make a move to talk him now, maybe he wouldn't be back.

"Hey, aren't you…?"

"Name's Logan. Logan Huntzberger. I could have told you that when I saw you at Pete's Tavern, but you weren't exactly in the mood to talk that night."

"How did find me here?"

"Oh, my sources keep me informed."

"Talky Tiffany strikes again," Lindsay sighed, rolling her eyes. She knew from others at the tavern that her co-worker Tiffany had a big mouth and had already blabbed about her to some of the other male customers. "Why'd you come here looking for me? I figured you'd go back to Pete's."

"I could have done that, but then you'd be working and I couldn't ask you out for lunch. So how 'bout it? Are you free? I'll take you anywhere you want to go, sweetheart, and don't worry about it being an expensive restaurant, I have my American Express gold card and money's no object. Daddy's pockets go very deep."

"Mmm… I don't know, Logan," Lindsay responded seriously on the outside, but on the inside she was laughing, just waiting to hear him beg her to change her mind.

"Aww… come on, Lindsay. Anywhere you want to go, just name it," he begged in response, just like she knew he would.

"I probably shouldn't go with you after the way you acted at the tavern and also I know now you have a girlfriend, but I don't like what she said about me at the diner the other day and if I can enjoy a nice meal at a gourmet restaurant and have her handsome boyfriend pay for it, maybe I'll recover from her trash talk a little quicker. Since money's no object, why don't we go to _Terra Mar _for lunch? It's a beautiful restaurant at the Old Saybrook Spa and Inn and I've wanted to go there for like forever, so it might as well be today."

"Good choice, I've actually been there many times," Logan responded smiling, impressed with her taste in restaurants and also thinking, in his own chauvinistic way, that all it took to get Lindsay where he wanted her was to flash a little money in front of her face.

Lindsay decided not to let Logan know where she lived, so she told him to wait for her at the campus coffee shop while she went home and got changed and that she'd meet him back at the coffee shop in forty-five minutes. She knew _Terra Mar_ was a very upscale restaurant and blue jeans and a faded sweatshirt weren't exactly up to their dress code. She jumped in the shower and then pulled on a lavender cashmere sweater and a mauve pencil skirt to match and finished off her outfit with a pair of chocolate colored dress boots from LL Bean and put her hair up in a French twist. As she started applying her makeup, Shane walked into the apartment.

"Well, well, well, where are you sneaking off to Miss Lindsay?" Shane teased.

"I got a date with a Yalie, that's all," Lindsay teased back.

"Logan's taking you to lunch? He hasn't been back to Pete's and I know he doesn't have your number, so how did he –"

"Talky Tiffany!" Lindsay replied as she dabbed her eyes with smoky eyeliner.

"Loose Lips finally did something useful, huh?" Shane laughed.

"Guess so, he's taking me to _Terra Mar_ for lunch in Old Saybrook."

"Whoa! That's a pricey hash house, Linds. I bet he's expecting something in return for that," Shane warned.

"Well, he's not gettin' any payment like that from me, I'll tell you that much. If he gets horny, he can just fantasize he's with me while he's doing it with Rory."

"I'm sure that's the kind of thing she does when she's with him all the time," Shane surmised.

"I bet she didn't do that when she was with Dean or Jess," Lindsay replied.

"True, they were pretty poor compared to this guy, but they were much sexier than he is."

"Tell me about it, it's going to be kind of hard for me to pretend I'm attracted to him when those guys looked like real men and he looks like an overgrown kid compared to them. Thank goodness he has the money to dress well; otherwise he'd look like a complete twerp."

"Best of luck, Linds. If he tries anything creepy, you give me a call right away on your cell phone and I'll come get you. Speaking of which, is he coming over to pick you up or are you meeting him some place?"

"I don't want him to know where we live, so I told him I'd meet him at the campus coffee shop in a little bit."

"Okay, if you don't mind then, let me ride back with you to school. I have a class this afternoon, anyway, and this way I'll have the keys in case I need to come get you."

"Sounds good," Lindsay replied, "okay I'm ready to break a heart. Let's go."

"Sometime I feel like we're on our own tv show and we need a theme song," Shane commented playfully as they walked out to the truck.

"How 'bout _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun_?" Lindsay suggested.

"That'll work," Shane agreed.

They started singing the lyrics to the song as they climbed into the truck and started driving down the road. ..._Oooooh, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. That's All They Really Want…_

**Meanwhile….**

While Logan sat and waited for Lindsay at the coffee shop, Finn called him on his cell phone and told him Rory been asking where he was. Every since that day at the diner in Stars Hollow, she'd been watching his every move like a hawk.

"Where'd you tell her I was, Finn?"

"Out with Colin."

"That was stupid, Finn."

"Why?"

"Because Colin is in one of her classes this afternoon. Call Colin and tell him to cut that class with her today."

"Oooh, the plot thickens, eh mate?" Finn chirped back. "You'll have to tell me all about her sometime."

"Just call Colin ASAP so I don't get busted," Logan responded in an annoyed tone of voice.

"I'm on it, mate. Save me a bite of your ho cake," Finn laughed and then hung up to call Colin.

Before they parted ways, Shane slipped Lindsay a canister of pepper spray. She was worried about Lindsay climbing into a car with Logan and driving off to a restaurant that was forty minutes away. She knew poor little rich boys had a sense of entitlement and she didn't want anything happening to her best friend.

Lindsay took one last look in the truck's mirror at herself to make sure she looked perfect before she went into the coffee shop to meet Logan and promised Shane she'd called her periodically from the road to let her know she was doing all right.

Logan was utterly pleased when he saw how elegant and stylish Lindsay looked when she entered the coffee shop. He had to admit to himself that as pretty as Rory was, her beauty could not compare to Lindsay's. The other waitress was right he thought, she _should_ be a model and right now she looked like she belonged more in his affluent world than Rory did.

"Shall we?" Logan asked and smiled as he looped his arm through Lindsay's, confident that this small town girl would be swept off her feet by his wealthy sophistication and worldly charm.

"We shall," Lindsay responded breezily, she was looking forward to dining at _Terra Mar_ and being pampered by the staff in a first class restaurant since she was in the same line of work and had to wait on others herself several hours every week.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Logan slipped the maître d' a twenty to seat them at a prime table overlooking the waterfront. When they were seated, he ordered them a bottle of vintage French Chablis. Lindsay stared at the wine list when the bottle arrived at their table and noticed the price was $76.00 and realized she wasn't dealing with a cheapskate, but she could tell Logan's perception was that she'd feel obligated to him for treating her to a first class dining experience, but he had no idea who he was dealing with, she wasn't nearly naïve as he thought she was.

Lindsay scanned the menu and her eyes fell on a lobster salad and she decided to order that. She figured she might as well order something expensive to make Logan feel all that more hopeful he was going to get lucky just to burn him. Since the restaurant was part of an inn and spa, she wondered when he was going to conveniently mention they could get a room or at the very least, a couples massage at the spa.

Logan continued to study his menu and mentioned he was going to order grilled swordfish. After the waiter came to take their orders, Logan gazed deeply into Lindsay's shiny, molasses-colored eyes. Lindsay could tell he what was thinking about, but decided to act innocent and pretend that she couldn't tell what his motives were.

"So, Lindsay, Three Rivers College is a quaint little institution. What are you studying there?"

"I'm studying Elementary Education. I have another year to go and then I'll be transferring to U Conn and I plan to finish up my degree and then get my Masters so I can become a certified teacher. What about you, Logan, what are you studying in school?"

"Well, my father owns the Huntzberger Publishing Company, so I had no choice in the matter but to major in Journalism."

"Doesn't sound awful," Lindsay responded.

"Well it doesn't, but sometimes it is. You have a lot perks when your family's wealthy, but there's a lot of predestined expectations that go along with those perks. Would you like another glass of Chablis?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure," Lindsay responded sweetly. She almost felt sorry for him, but she knew he had a devilish side, too, so she parked her pity for him on ice.

"I'm really enjoying having lunch with you, Lindsay. I should have told you sooner, but you look absolutely fantastic," Logan remarked.

_Oh boy, here it comes_, Lindsay thought suspiciously.

"Do you have to get back right away? I mean do you have to work later on or anything?"

Lindsay smelled trouble and she actually didn't have to work that day, but knew Logan's next trick was going to be trying to get her into the one of the rooms at the inn. "Actually, I'm afraid I do, Logan. My shift starts at three today, so I'll need to leave right after lunch to make it to work on time," she lied.

Logan looked majorly disappointed. He had thought for sure when she'd suggested a place to eat that was out of town, she'd have all the time in the world today and that he'd be able to take her upstairs for a quickie. But then he convinced himself that the best things were worth waiting for and that it was going to make it all that much sweeter when he finally did get her into bed. Unlike Rory, he recalled, who was so desperate for a date with him, that she tried to get him to sleep with her at the reception her grandparents held for the renewal of their wedding vows, which made him wonder in retrospect why he'd ever consider having someone that cheap for an actual girlfriend.

"Okay, hon, relax and enjoy your wine. I'll get you back in time. We can plan something else for another time soon. Maybe I can meet you after classes on a day that you don't have to work."

"Well, the earliest day I'll be free is next Tuesday."

"Tuesday works for me," Logan replied eagerly. "What do you say we catch a matinee and go out for a bite to eat after you classes on Tuesday?"

"I'll drink to that," Lindsay replied giddily, clinking her wine glass against Logan's.

"Tuesday it is," Logan agreed, clinking her glass back. He couldn't wait.

That night, back at the apartment, Lindsay and Shane made spaghetti and meat balls and chatted about her date with Logan.

"Tell me all about it, Linds," Shane asked excitedly as she sprinkled extra parmesan cheese on top of her spaghetti.

"Well, not much to tell," Lindsay replied as she grabbed a piece of garlic bread to dip in the spaghetti sauce. "The restaurant was superb and the scenery was breathtaking, it was right on the waterfront, facing Long Island Sound and he made sure to pay off the maître d' so we could have the best table in the house. Then he ordered an expensive bottle of wine, I had lobster salad and we shared some chocolate mousse for dessert and I knew his next move was going to be to try to take me into one of the rooms at the inn, but I lied and told him I had to come back home early to work tonight, so he begged me to go out with him next Tuesday."

"Did you accept?" Shane asked anxiously.

"Of course, I accepted. I think I'm going to enjoy stringing him along and the more money he shells out for me, the less money he'll have to spend on his little princess."

"Now you're thinking, girl!" Shane laughed approvingly. "Keep working on him, Lindsay, I can't wait to see what happens when his little princess falls off her throne."

"The trick is to make him keep thinking he's the one working on me and once he thinks he's got me where he wants me, I'll make sure she gets to find out what it felt like when I found out about her and Dean and what you felt like when she broke up you and Jess."

"Yeah, I wonder how she'll like it when she gets a taste of her own reality sandwich?" Shane pondered. "Oh, Linds, speaking of tasting…I almost forgot…I've been working on a new drink today that I'm thinking of serving down at the bar. Wanta try one and tell me what you think?"

"I don't know if I can, Shane, Mr. Smoothie was trying to get me plastered so he could try and have his way with me and I ended up drinking three glasses of wine. I don't know if I can handle one of your strong concoctions of top of that."

"Oh, please say you'll try it, I worked really hard on the recipe and you'll hurt my feelings if you don't."

"Oh, all right," Lindsay agreed reluctantly, already feeling a headache coming on. She knew Shane used copious amounts of liquor in all her special libations she invented and they almost always tasted great, but inevitably led to a wicked hangover in the morning. "You're responsible for making sure I don't oversleep tomorrow," she warned.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get up in the morning," Shane promised, delighted Lindsay agreed to be her taste tester for her latest alcoholic creation.

* * *

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Five

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean, Logan, Lane and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

_**A few days later…**_

It was a cold and dreary Saturday late morning. Lindsay was driving and Shane was napping curled up on the seat of the Ford truck. Lindsay had a ton of homework, so she brought what she had not completed with her. Luckily, Shane had completed hers already so they could hang out in town once Lindsay finished up her assignment. The once a week trip to Stars Hollow had become an enjoyable routine. Lindsay was still estranged from her family despite trying to reason with them. So she decided to give up for the time being. As gracious as Shane's mother was, she still missed her own home.

"Wake up, sleepy, we're here."

Shane reluctantly popped an eye open and recognized her house, "Linds, that was one great sleep. So are you going to finish your homework right away or do it later?"

I want to get it out of the way so I don't have to worry about it all weekend, and remember we do have the late Sunday shift.

Allison greeted the girls and had them come into the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate, to take the chill out of their bones.

"So what are you two up to this weekend?"

Shane answered, "Nothing if Lindsay doesn't finish her homework and studying, but actually we figured we would go down to the Log Cabin Pub, and let someone wait on us for a change, and see how many guys we can get to buy us drinks."

"Shane, you're not like that, so why do you say things like that? That is the reason you get that bad reputation."

"Mother, someone has to have a mind of their own in this town. I like to shake things up."

Allison shook her head, "That you do."

Lindsay was still deep into her books and Shane was curled up on the couch reading a magazine, when Allison announced she had to get some things from the store.

"I'll go, Mom, just give me the list. Hey ,Linds, can I take the truck?"

Lindsay looked up, "The keys are in my jacket pocket."

Shane got the list from her mother and jumped into the truck and decided to drive to one of the chain super markets outside of town instead of Doose's market, she did not feel like putting up with the local gossips.

Shane was pushing her cart out to the truck when she heard, "Hey Shane!"

Looking up, she saw Dean standing by his pickup truck two spaces away. Shane had always gotten along with Dean, but she hesitated returning his greeting out of loyalty to her friend.

"Shane, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Shane figured it would not hurt to hear what he had to say. "Okay, Dean, let me put these groceries in the cab." When she had them put away, she walked over to Dean's truck. "Dean, let's sit in your truck so we don't get soaked."

After they were settled in the truck, Dean was quiet. All she could hear was the rain drops, "Dean, you wanted to talk, so say something."

"When did you and Lindsay become friends?"

"Why do you care, Dean?"

Dean stuttered, "I don't care."

"Okay, then why are we having this conversation?" Shane then opened the door to the truck.

"Wait, please wait, Shane."

Shane closed the door of the truck. "Dean, if you have something to say, say it."

"How is Lindsay?"

Shane looked at Dean, and slightly shook her head, "you're pathetic, Dean."

Dean took in a deep breath. It was like he was struck in the stomach with a sledge hammer.

"Shane, you and I were friendly. What happened?"

"Look, Dean, Lindsay is my best friend now and she is also my roommate in Norwich. To be honest with you, I can't believe you cheated on her with Rory Gilmore after what she did to you and me when her and Jess got together. What were you thinking when you did that?"

Dean hung his head. "I'm sorry."

"You're saying you're sorry to the wrong person. Tell me why did you do it?"

"I thought I was still in love with Rory. I thought I had lost her, and she came back into my life."

"So why did you marry Lindsay?"

"I don't know Shane, I thought I loved her."

"You're telling me you got married because you thought you loved Lindsay? It looks like you might have married her to make Rory jealous. You used Lindsay and deceived her. You did not have the common decency to tell her that you were in love with someone else. So why do you want to talk to me, Dean?"

"I made a big mistake, Shane, I know it now."

"You decided you made a big mistake after Rory dumped you for Logan. Dean, I used to think you were a pretty nice guy. You know you broke the heart of one of the sweetest, most decent girls I have ever known. You have any idea what you did to her? You were her first, all she wanted to do was to be a good wife and make you happy."

Dean was looking out the door window. It was deathly silent except for the sounds of traffic. Without looking at Shane he asked, "Do you think I could talk to her?"

"Dean, I am going to tell you something you don't want to hear. Lindsay is dead to you. Maybe someday in the future you two can be friendly. But Dean, don't count on it for a long time. You crushed her, but I guess you know how it feels to be shit canned also. My advice to you is to leave her alone. If you do one thing to hurt her, you will have to deal with me also. I need to go." Without another word Shane exited the truck.

Dean sat there silently. He realized he had a one in a million girl and broke her soul for a fickle girl, who had dumped him once already. Dean shook his head and wondered if he would ever be happy again.

Shane got into the Ford, and started the drive back to her house. She wondered if she should tell Lindsay about meeting Dean and the conversation. After a few minutes, Shane realized that keeping secrets between friends would ruin the friendship. Lindsay needed to know that her and Dean spoke.

Shane entered the house and sat the bags of groceries on the table. She noticed that Lindsay was done with her homework and was reading a magazine. Shane sat on the couch next to her.

"Lindsay, I need to tell you something."

Lindsay looked up from her book, "Why the somber look?"

"Linds, I ran into Dean and had a conversation with him."

Lindsay took off her glasses, "Oh, what brought that on?"

"He was parked near me, and asked to talk to me. So I did. I think he wanted me to mediate a meeting between the two of you."

Lindsay looked at Shane for a long moment. "What did you tell him?"

"Basically hell would have to freeze over first."

"Look, Shane, I really don't have a problem with you talking to Dean, but he is my problem not yours."

"Well, I've known Dean since Rory broke me and Jess up, but I just don't know if it's right to talk to him anymore since you and I are best friends now, Linds."

"Don't worry about it, and I know you would not tell him anything about me, so no worries. So what time do you want to head over to the Log Cabin?"

"I guess about five or so. We can catch happy hour and I guess get back here about nine. We do have to work tomorrow night."

The rain had let up, so Shane and Lindsay walked the twenty minutes to the pub. They found a couple of seats at the bar and ordered two Miller Lites. The girl behind the bar had worked with Shane at another bar near Stars Hollow, and engaged her in some light conversation. Shane introduced Lindsay. The bartender named Rose said, "Oh yeah, your Dean's ex-wife."

"No, Rose," Shane interrupted, "Dean is Lindsay's dumb ass ex-husband."

Rose laughed, "Yeah, I guess you could call him a dumb ass. He played the game and wound up with no one. You know he comes in here."

Lindsay laughed, "Rose, don't worry, I won't pick on him. _Dos cervezas, por favor._ "

Rose returned with the two fresh beers, "Have fun ladies. I'll talk to you later."

"Lindsay, so when is your next date, or whatever you call it, with Logan again?"

"Tuesday, he wants to a matinee and then out to dinner in New London. Which is good since it's close by and if I have to ditch him I know the area, but I don't think I will have any trouble with him. He may be a pompous ass, but he is not a masher or a violent person. The only problem I have is that I feel a little bit like a whore when I go out with him."

"Linds, you can call this off if you want."

"No Shane, I want to see this through. If I had any thoughts that I could like Logan or fall for him I would, but no worries there, besides he is just like Rory, he has a girlfriend and wants some side action. That is sort of what she did with Dean and Jess. Dean was the boyfriend and Jess was the side action."

"Yeah, Linds, I was the girlfriend and Rory was the side action. I find it kind of interesting that Rory took Dean and Jess from their woman and then dumped them. I guess you would call that justice."

"Come on, Shane; let's talk about something that is not depressing."

"Okay, let's put our quarters up and challenge some of these guys to a game of pool."

"Sounds good and Shane walked over and put their quarters on the rail. One of the guys standing around asked, "So who is the lucky guy who is your partner?"

"No guy, just my friend," and Shane pointed to Lindsay sitting at the bar. Lindsay smiled and gave a little wave.

"You know we're playing for money?"

"So how much?"

"Twenty a game or ten a piece."

Shane batted her blue eyes and looked wistfully at him, "That's a lot of money."

He looked at Shane and said "It is what it is. If you want to play, that is the going rate. That is what we are all playing for."

Shane beckoned Lindsay over. "Twenty a game, what do you think? Let's not beat them too badly; maybe they will play more than one game," Lindsay replied.

What they did not know was that Shane virtually grew up in a pool hall, and one of the positive things about Jess in her mind was, that he was an excellent pool player, and they spent a lot of time playing pool against each other. Lindsay was just a natural athlete who played pool with her father. Shane was very surprised when she played Lindsay pool at Pete's. They teamed up more than once to take down a couple of cocky guys.

"All right you're on," Shane said and then racked the balls. "Okay guys, what are your names, so I don't have to call you two Frick and Frack."

The taller guy, who was about to break, said his name was Al and he pointed to his partner, Craig.. He took aim and broke the rack. He sank the one ball so he had solids. Al went on to sink the four and the six before he missed.

Lindsay picked up a stick, took quick aim and missed.

Then it was Craig's turn, "Gee, you did not leave me anything to shoot at." So he tried a ridiculous shot, which failed.

Shane made the eleven and then missed the fourteen.

Al looked for a shot, again there was no shot. So he tried to just hide the cue ball.

Lindsay approached the table, and swiftly took a shot, sinking the thirteen and then missing on the ten.

As the game progressed, Al and Craig never seemed to have a clear shot. Finally, Shane sunk the eight ball and won.

Al gave Shane a twenty and said, "You know that was the weirdest game of pool I have ever shot. You guys were some lucky. We never seemed to have a shot. Let's do it again."

They shot three more games of pool, all with the same result. They never seemed to have a clear shot, after the fourth game, the guys gave up and Shane invited them to the bar for a beer and a shot. They sat at the bar making small talk and Lindsay pulled Shane to the side, "You know they are pretty nice guys."

"I know, Linds, I am going to pick up their tab, I already told Rose."

Lindsay and Shane decided to go and hugged Al and Craig, and told them they would see them around.

A short time later, Al and Craig decided to leave and to their amazement found that their tab was already paid. "Rose, who did this?" Al inquired."

"Shane and Lindsay, the two girls you shot pool with."

"Why would they pay the tab?"

"Al, they felt bad about hustling you."

"What do you mean hustle us? They barely beat us."

"Think about why you never had a shot. It is called position. Shane virtually grew up in a pool hall. You were being toyed with."

Al looked at Craig, who looked a bit stunned, and started laughing. "We were had buddy, at least it was by two foxy girls." Craig shook his head, "Well at least they paid our tab for us. That was real nice of them. Next time we see them, let's buy them a drink and not shoot pool with them."

"Good idea, Craig."

On the walk back to Shane's house, they stopped at Luke's Diner. The place was almost empty, Luke was nowhere to be seen and Lane was working a shift. They both had gone to school with Lane, but neither one of them were really chummy with her. They sat at the counter and Lane approached.

"Hi, what are you going to have?"

"Hi, Lane, how are the kids?"

"Good, Shane, what's new with you?"

"Nothing really, just going to school and working in Norwich."

Lane impatiently tapped her pencil on the menu pad, "Make up your mind yet?"

Lindsay looked up from her menu, "Yeah, I'll take a bowl of chili and a cup of coffee. It's cold out there."

"Make that two, Lane," Shane agreed.

Lane returned shortly and served them the chili and coffee. After she put the food down, Lane lingered at their table silently for a few moments, and finally spoke. "Lindsay, I'm curious…were you flirting with Rory's boyfriend when you were here a few weeks ago?"

Now Lindsay was getting pissed. Who did mousy Lane think she was, having the nerve to ask such a nosy question or to think that she owed her any sort of explanation about anything just because she worked at Luke's restaurant? "What makes you think I'd answer such a stupid question like that, Lane? Who's the customer here, me or you?"

"Well, uh…Rory told me she thought you were flirting with her boyfriend, and so did Lorelai. I wasn't trying to imply anything. I…um… was just trying to make conversation," Lane answered wimpishly, wanting desperately to stick up for Rory, but not having the guts to confront Lindsay as forcefully as she wanted to with Shane sitting there, staring her down with her steely blue eyes.

Lindsay decided this was the time for a little white lie. "He looked over at me and smiled, so I smiled back at him. I'm not sure why you're trying to make a big deal out of it, Lane."

"Yeah, but Rory told me that you bent over in front of Logan on purpose so he could get a good look at you," Lane replied bluntly, but in a weak tone of voice that showed how scared she was to force those words from her mouth. She'd had to squeeze out what little courage she had left to try and drive her point across to Lindsay.

"Lane, I don't know where you are going with this," Lindsay said accusingly to Lane, even though she really did know what Lane was driving at, "but I sort of resent this game of twenty questions you're playing. I am trying to eat my dinner, and for your information, I merely dropped a fork and picked it up, isn't that what most normal people do?"

Lane looked at Lindsay for a moment, wanting to go back at her because she could tell she was lying, but she lacked the nerve to argue with her and could tell Shane was getting ready to confront her if she dared to disagree with Lindsay any more than she already had, so she walked away from the table without answering and returned a few minutes later with their check.

Shane looked at the check, "I got it, Linds."

On the way out, Shane called out to Lane who was cleaning tables, "The money is on the counter, see ya around, Lane."

Lane waved half-heartedly and went back to cleaning, muttering under her breath as she walked over to the counter to collect the money.

Shane and Lindsay walked in silence for a few minutes, "Linds, the princess is starting to worry."

"I know, Shane, she is now having those moments, where she is wondering if her world is going to collapse. Fleeting moments, but each one like pin prick, they will add up and start to poison the relationship. Shane let's take your mother someplace else in the morning for breakfast, I think I have had enough of Luke's for this weekend."

The girls had fallen into a pattern of taking Shane's mother out for breakfast every Sunday morning, "Works for me Linds, God it is getting cold."

The next day, the girls got ready to back to Norwich after they took Shane's mother to brunch at Weston's Bakery. They arrived in Norwich at 2:00 in the afternoon and started getting ready for their late afternoon, early evening shift around 3:00. When they got to the tavern, all the tv's were tuned to football channels because it was fall time. Due to Norwich's location, the crowd was evenly split between cheering for the Patriots or one of the New York teams, Jets or Giants.

"Linds, I talked Lenny into letting me push that drink I came up with. It would be good between games and at half time. Lindsay you're tall, erase the menu board and write _Drink Special_, _Shane's Wild Irish Russian, $6.00."*_

Business was brisk and several people asked what the new drink was, but no one was buying one. So Shane made one and passed it around to her bar customers. Several of the girls wanted one, and Shane got busy turning out her concoction.

Lindsay and Tiffany did not particularly like each other, but they worked together well when they had to. The tavern was jammed and each section had two waitresses, which meant Lindsay and Tiffany would have to split tips that night.

"So Lindsay, who was that good looking guy who has been asking about you, did you ever meet up with him?"

"Tiff, just some guy who I waited on, and by the way, thanks for telling him where I went to school." Lindsay was actually mad at Tiffany for doing that, but she realized that for what she wanted to do, Tiffany was an unwitting partner.

"So you're not mad, Lindsay?"

"No, I had lunch with him, and it went pretty well."

"Are you going to see him again? If not, I will take him," Tiffany snickered.

"I'm seeing him again on Tuesday, come on let's get back to work, we're not going to get rich standing here."

At eleven o'clock, Lenny told Shane and Lindsay to go home because he knew they had school in the morning. "Shane," he called as they were walking out the door, "that drink went over real well. I am going to make it a football Sunday special drink."

"Great, Lenny I get a cut of the drink price, right?"

"Go away, Shane and take your friend with you."

The girls laughed at that, it was Lenny's usual way of saying good bye and have a good time.

In the blink of an eye, Tuesday arrived and Lindsay came home right after her classes to freshen up and get ready for her date with Logan before she went back to meet him at the campus coffee shop. At first she was just going to keep it casual since they were going to a movie matinee, but then she remembered Logan had mentioned something about going out to eat after the movie, so she decided to play it safe and wear something semi-dressy. She fished through her closet and found a black sweater dress to wear, then pulled on a pair of smoky black tights from her top dresser drawer, chose a pair of large gold hoop earrings to wear and then stepped into a pair of black, Cole Haan ankle boots to complete her outfit.

Lindsay handed the keys to the truck to Shane, "Okay, kiddo, drop me off at the coffee shop, I want to get there before he does."

"Linds, I am going to give you a head start, and I think I am going to hang around New London today. Do you have your pepper spray and cell phone?"

Lindsay checked her purse and reassured Shane she had both items. "Shane, like I said before, of Logan's many faults, being aggressive is not one of them. He likes to try and overwhelm me with money. He prides himself on being a gentleman and having good manners. What I mean to say, is that he is going to try and buy me into bed, not force me."

Lindsay entered the coffee shop, grabbed a stool by the door, ordered a Pepsi and waited. Right on time, Logan showed up. He gave Lindsay a small hug and a kiss on the cheek. Lindsay likened it to a dog marking his territory. Now no one in the coffee shop would have any doubt that she belonged to Logan.

"Wow, you look incredible today, Lindsay, almost good enough to eat."

When Lindsay started laughing at his compliment, he did not get it. Then he realized what he said was a double entendre and could easily be misconstrued. Logan hastily tried to assure Lindsay that he did not mean it in the bad way. What was it about this girl that tongue tied him at times?

"Come on, Logan, you can't fool me," Lindsay laughed teasingly. "Don't try and sweet talk your way out of what you said. You just said what was on your mind," Lindsay remarked flippantly and started to laugh some more.

Logan responded by chuckling, trying to cover his gaffe, "Oh, whatever, Lindsay. Come on let's go, sweetheart."

Lindsay smiled to herself. _Good he is off balance now._

They walked out to his sleek, black Porsche, Logan opened the door for her, and Lindsay gracefully stepped into the car. Logan walked around to the driver's side. Since Logan wanted to take Lindsay out to eat at a restaurant in New London after the movie, they drove to the closest cinema, which was in Groton. When they arrived at the theater, Logan and Lindsay scanned the various posters and decided on _Pirates of the Caribbean_ as their movie choice.

After the movie they drove into New London, which was only ten minutes away from the theater. As soon as Logan crossed the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, over the Thames River, he turned toward center city, drove past Union station and made a left on Bank Street and drove down till he spotted _Dev's _on Bank Street. He explained to Lindsay that this was a tapas restaurant. Logan went around and opened the door for Lindsay and helped her out of the car. He walked into the restaurant with his hand on her waist. Again, Lindsay thought, _He is letting_ _people know that I belong to him_.

The restaurant was a beautiful room with wooden paneled walls, soft lighting, and attractive décor imported from Spain, the bar area was separate from the dining area, but as the hostess explained to them, they could eat in the bar area also.

Logan suggested Spanish Paella for two, Lindsay looked at the menu and saw it was saffron flavored rice topped with mussels, clams, chicken and chorizo.

"Sounds good to me," Lindsay replied

When the waitress returned, they ordered the Paella, two house salads and a bottle of _Quara__Torrontes,_a white wine from Argentina.

Logan had asked for the wine to be served right away. Lindsay reminded herself to not mention Logan's "girlfriend." She didn't want Logan to know that she knew Rory, but it wasn't likely she could have made that dangerous slip up anyway because Logan wanted to monopolize the conversation as usual. She noticed that Logan made several references to his money and had no problem showing it off.

"Lindsay, did you know they run a ferry from here to Orient Point?"

"What is in Orient Point?"

Logan toyed with his wine glass, "Well for one thing, it is a nice ride and the other it is only about an hour drive to the Hamptons, where my family has a beach house."

"Logan, I have school in the morning. I can't go off to Long Island. Besides, why would I want to see your parents' beach house?" Lindsay looked at him with her most innocent look.

"I guess you're right, Lindsay, it is sort of late to be taking a trip like that, maybe we can plan it for a weekend trip?"

Lindsay laughed, "Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? I've been out with you _twice._ I don't think I am going off for a weekend with you."

"Lindsay, I am sorry I didn't mean it that way, you're so beautiful, I don't realize what I say half the time."

Lindsay laughed "Sure, sure, you're just like all the rest of the guys, just admit it."

Logan who was a bit off balance from the conversation and the wine, said way too loudly, "I am **not** like the rest of the guys, I'm better."

"So, Logan, you're not like the rest, why is that? Prove it to me."

Logan couldn't believe Lindsay was resisting him. He was used to most girls of Lindsay's background falling into bed with him as soon as they got a whiff of his money.

"How do I prove it to you?"

"That is for you to figure out, Logan."

Logan beckoned for the check, "Lindsay, it is still early let's take a ride to Niantic, I know a interesting bar there and we can have one last drink and then catch 395 back to Norwich."

"Logan, are you sure you can drive okay?"

"Look, Lindsay, I can handle anything."

"Okay, if you say so, excuse me while I use the ladies room." As soon as Lindsay got in the ladies room, she texted Shane to tell her they were going to Niantic. It was a short drive from New London, but, she still felt better with Shane knowing, even though she had no fear of Logan. Actually she thought to herself, _If he gets too drunk to drive, I can make some excuse and Shane would be nearby and could get me home._

Again Logan helped her into the Porsche. When he got in he leaned over and tried to kiss her. Lindsay tuned her cheek and laughed, "Come on, Logan, I thought we were friends. Is a romantic relationship what you want?

"Aww…come on Lindsay, that was going to be just a friendly kiss."

"Drive the car big boy, and I'll think about how a friendly of a kiss I will let you have."

The ride to The Old Lyme Tavern in Niantic only took 15 minutes. They entered a large bar that Lindsay could see was once a lot smaller and was added onto as the shops next to it closed. The center of the room was dominated by a large square bar. Logan pulled out a seat for her then ordered two beers from the waitress.

"Logan, why did you take me here?"

"It is just an interesting place, also a good place for lunch these days. You have pool tables, dart games, Trivia, all sorts of things to do."

"All right, Logan, it does seem like an interesting place." Lindsay also noticed two things, that down the street from the bar there was a motel, and that Logan was resting his hand on her leg. Lindsay decided that as long as the hand did not wander, she would leave it be.

Lindsay rested her hand on Logan's arm and looked him in the eyes,"So who was the girl you were with In Stars Hollow?"

"She is just a girl I went to school with, she means nothing to me."

"Are you sure Logan?" Lindsay asked, trying to look like she really cared about Rory meaning nothing to him. She was glad Logan did not realize that she was from Stars Hollow and knew Rory. He thought that she was from Norwich, and luckily Rory did not mention to him that she knew her or _Operation Princess Downsize_ would have gone bust, not that she was worried she would tell him anything about her, given Rory's history of sleeping with her husband.

"Why do you ask Lindsay?"

"No reason, just useful information for a girl."

Lindsay felt Logan's free hand inch slightly higher on her leg. She smiled, stood up, "Take me home, Logan" Lindsay pointed to the bathroom, "I'll meet you outside." Once in the bathroom, Lindsay typed _On the way home _in her cell phone. All she had to do was hit "send" when she was sure she was on the way home.

Leaving the bar, she saw Logan standing by the passenger door of his car to open it for her. Lindsay stopped to let Logan open the door when he took her in his arms and kissed her. Her first impulse was to push him off and slap the crap out of him, but she counted to five, then broke off the kiss. Lindsay laughed, "Logan, I have been kissed before and that was not just a friendly kiss."

Logan was looking intently at her, trying to figure her out. He knew now that he would do almost anything to have her. He was also relieved that she did not press him more about Rory and believed his story. Finally he decided to be cautious, and not risk pissing her off and try to take her to the motel. Logan smiled back at her, "Come on I'll take you home."

Lindsay had Logan drop her off at Pete's. The tavern was quiet, just a few people quietly drinking, lost in their thoughts. This was the time of day Lenny told her where people come in drink, and wonder where in the hell their lives went. She got a beer from Ida and called Shane to let her know that she was at Pete's and would be home shortly. Shane asked her if she wanted a lift, which she declined.

Ida walked over to where Lindsay was sitting "Lindsay, I have two questions for you. First, a friend of Lenny's called from New Haven, and wanted him to recommend a couple of girls to help at a big function at his place. Next Saturday"

"Let me ask Shane, but I am ninety nine percent sure we will do it."

"One more question…"

"Ask away."

"Look Lindsay, I am not funny or anything, but you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Why are you working here?"

Lindsay looked at her, "To make money to pay the rent and go to school. You know that, besides I don't know where you get that beautiful thing from."

"You are kidding me aren't you Lindsay?"

"Ida, if I am so beautiful, why did my husband have an affair and leave me for another woman? The only person to ask me out in months is a sleaze bag. Yeah, men look at me and all they see is long legs and a short skirt, which equals an easy lay to them. Ida, I am twenty two, I have only been with one man in my life, and he cheated on me. I have only kissed three men in my life, counting the sleaze bag I was with today."

Lindsay looked as if she was getting ready to throw her bottle of beer across the room.

Ida put her hands on Lindsay's arm, "Calm down, girl."

"I'm sorry, Ida, I think a walk home in the rain will be good for me."

Ida watched Lindsay walk out the door. She was worried about her, Shane did not worry her too much, Shane was like a junkyard dog, mess with her and you would have your hands full. Lindsay was sweet, not that Shane wasn't sweet, but Lindsay was vulnerable, wounded. The realization came over Ida, that Lindsay really did not think she was beautiful.

Lindsay walked the two blocks to their apartment. Shane was home waiting for her. "Lindsay, I need to talk to you some..."

"Shane tell me when I come out of the shower, I feel dirty."

"Lindsay, it's important."

Lindsay was too upset to notice Shane's look of concern. "When I am out of the shower."

Lindsay exited the bathroom in her robe. "Shane tell me now, I feel better."

Lindsay, I don't have all the details, but my mother called me and told me that Dean was in a serious automobile accident."

Shane watched Lindsay turn white. "Is he okay? I have to know," she pleaded. Then Lindsay said, "Screw him, he deserved it."

Shane walked over to the couch sat and put her arm around Lindsay, "Linds, you know you don't mean that."

Lindsay put her head down and slumped forward." I know, you're right. I guess once you love someone, a part of you will always love him. I hate him I think, but I don't want him hurt. Isn't it nuts how you can love and hate someone at the same time?"

"Probably more common than you think, Linds."

"Shane, I can't do it for many reasons, but would you visit him and see how he is? I will audit your morning class and take notes for you."

"Lindsay, consider it done, I will leave early."

"Thank you, Shane."

* * *

_**** Shane's Wild Irish Russian ****_

_Add the following ingredients in a blender:_

**- One large scoop of ice cream**  
**- Two shots of vodka (Smirnoff 100 or better)  
****- Two shots of Bailey's Irish Cream (Emmetts is acceptable)  
****- Four ounces of club soda**

_Blend ingredients._

_Pour into rock glasses with ice. (Should make two drinks)_

**Note:** _**Above cocktail recipe is intended only for responsible adults of legal drinking age who wish to try new drinks. This recipe is not being provided with the intent of promoting any form of alcohol abuse.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Six

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean, Logan, Clara, Lorelai and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

_**The Next Morning…**_

Snow began to fall as Shane pulled into the parking lot of the Stars Hollow General Hospital. Usually Shane loved being outdoors when snow began to fall, but the sorrow of her mission made her find the falling flakes getting into her hair and coating her jacket annoying. She pulled up the hood of her jacket and shoved her hands in her pockets to protect them from the bitter cold. Allison was always scolding her for losing her gloves, but every Christmas Shane would get a new pair of them under the Christmas tree from her because she knew that Shane couldn't hold onto them for very long.

Shane stopped at the front desk and showed them her ID and asked for Dean's room number. When she arrived at Room 3028, on the third floor, she saw Dean's mother, father, and his sister, Clara standing at his bedside.

"Hey, Dean, my mother called me last night to tell me you were in the hospital. I hope I haven't come at a bad time."

"Oh, hey Shane," Dean responded weakly, but still managed to smile at Shane, grateful that she was paying her respects. "I'm glad you stopped by now, my family has to leave for a little while and this way I won't be so lonely," he commented appreciatively.

"Oh, hi, I'm Clara," Clara said, extending her hand to Shane politely.

"Hello, Clara, I'm Shane."

"How do you two know each other?" Clara asked curiously, she instantly liked Shane and wished that she could be Dean's girlfriend.

"Dean and I knew each other at Stars Hollow High and we've been friends since then."

"Oh," Clara responded disappointedly, knowing that meant that she and Dean were just buddies and she could forget about ever having this delightful, bubbly, pretty lady as a future sister-in-law. "Well it's nice to meet you, Shane. This is my mom and dad, Mr. and Mrs. Forester."

"Hello," they both responded warmly, extending their hand to greet Shane, neither of them suspecting in the slightest that Shane was best friends with their ex-daughter-in-law.

"Nice to meet all of you," Shane replied sincerely, saddened that Lindsay had been forced to walk away from all these wonderful in-laws.

"Well, Dean, your mother and I are going to take Clara to school and then we'll be back around lunch time," his father informed him.

"Okay, Dad, I'll see you then," Dean replied. "Bye now!"

"Bye," they all chorused on their way out the door.

"Shane, it's so good to see you," Dean commented, glad to have a familiar face near his bedside, especially since his parents were leaving for a few hours.

"It's good to see you, too, Dean," Shane replied as she sat down on the chair near his bed. "So my mother called to say you were in a pretty bad auto accident. What happened?"

"Well, I was driving back from inspecting one of our construction jobs in Meriden and I was going through a green light right outside of town when I got side swiped by a red Jaguar that was going about 100 miles an hour. I probably wouldn't have ended up in the hospital, but I'd taken my regular car to the site instead of the normal heavy weight rig I usually drive around in for my jobs and I absorbed the impact pretty badly."

"So what kind of injuries did you sustain in your accident?" Shane asked as she looked at the maze of casts and slings that enveloped him, realizing that Dean had come extremely close to being killed by this jerk who'd driven like a maniac.

"Broken leg, broken collar bone, three cracked ribs and a possible concussion," Dean replied, wincing, his pain killer was beginning to wear off.

"What about the guy who rammed you?"

"Don't know. I passed out shortly after I was hit and he never stopped. They have some witnesses who said it was a couple of guys in the car and they think they got the driver's tag number and they're going to be checking it out, but even if they didn't get the tag number right, a bright red Jaguar with a smashed front end and a Yale parking sticker is gonna be pretty obvious to the local law enforcement officials if he's dumb enough to take it back out on the road again."

Just then, the nurse appeared with the pain medication.

"Oh, just in time, thank you, nurse," Dean responded before she administered the pain medication.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave, young lady," the elderly nurse informed Shane. "I've just given him his pain medication and a sleeping pill and he needs to get some rest."

"I'm sorry our visit had to be cut short, Shane. Will you come back and visit me? I think there's visiting hours in the evening?" Dean asked, looking at the nurse.

"Visiting hours are until 8:00," the nurse answered sweetly.

"Oh, I'm off work tonight," Shane answered promptly, "I could come back and visit you then, if you'd like, Dean. Guess I'd better go now so you can get some rest," Shane announced as she arose from her chair.

"Uh, Shane?" Dean called out woozily, starting to feel the intoxicating effects of his medication.

"Yeah, Dean?"

"Could you bring Lindsay with you? It'd mean a lot to me to see her," Dean pleaded.

Shane scanned her brain, not knowing what to do. She felt dreadfully sorry for Dean, but she really didn't think Lindsay wanted to see him. She finally thought of a neutral approach, hoping it would work.

"Well, Dean, I uh… think that could be arranged, but won't your parents get upset if they see Lindsay coming to visit you? You two parted rather unpleasantly and it might be awkward for both your parents and her if they happen to be here at the same time. Maybe I could have her come try and see you when you get out of the hospital instead," Shane suggested.

"I'd love to see her now. Please just ask her and if she doesn't want to come with you tonight because she's afraid of seeing my parents, I'll understand," Dean responded faintly and then immediately fell into a drug induced slumber.

Since their visit was cut short, Shane had a little extra time and decided to go to the hospital cafeteria before she left since she didn't have a chance to get any breakfast before she went to the hospital. She got a large cup of hazelnut flavored coffee with skim milk and ordered a toasted English muffin with butter and strawberry jam. As she sat at the table eating the English muffin, and sipping her coffee, she mulled over Dean's request. On the one hand, she absolutely did not want Lindsay to feel guilted into visiting him, but on the other hand, she felt so horrible about what happened to Dean that she felt like she had no choice but to tell Lindsay his request.

Shane drove back to Norwich and was able to make it to a late morning class before she met Lindsay for lunch at the campus dining room.

Lindsay ordered her usual Autumn salad and Shane ordered a small cup of chicken rice soup since she still felt kind of full from the English muffin she'd had at the hospital cafeteria earlier.

"How did it go, Shane?" Lindsay asked anxiously as they parked themselves at the table.

"He's in pretty bad shape, Lindsay, but it looks like he'll be all right. It'll take some time though. He's got a broken collar bone, broken leg, three broken ribs and a possible concussion."

"Oh, no!" Lindsay gasped in horror. "How did it happen?"

"Well, he was driving back into town from a construction job and going through a green light and got smacked pretty hard by some maniac that went through a red light going a 100 miles an hour. The guy who did it didn't even stop, he just kept going, according to Dean."

Shane noticed Lindsay was deep in thought, absorbing the devastating news and she felt very sad for her. Even though Dean was no longer Lindsay's husband, Shane instinctively knew there was a part of her that was always going to love him no matter what he'd done to her.

"Uh, Linds," Shane hesitated, "there's something else I have to tell you…"

"What is it, Shane?"

"Um…Dean wants me to come back to see him tonight because they had to cut my visit short with him today to give him medicine so he could sleep. He asked me to ask you to come to the hospital with me tonight. Don't feel like you have to or anything. I told him that you might not want to because his parents would be there, but I also left it open and didn't give him an outright no, just in case you did want to come with me. "

"I…I…think maybe I will come with you," Lindsay responded. She surprised herself that she'd agree to do it, but somehow, deep down, she knew Dean would have come to see her if she'd been the one in the accident, so she felt she should grant him this favor as difficult as it was probably going to be to face him again.

"Really, Linds? You'll come?" Shane asked, surprised herself, but proud of Lindsay at the same time. "I think you're doing the right thing, Lindsay. I really do. And don't worry about anyone in his family getting out of line or anything, you'll have me there as your protector, so if you feel uncomfortable when we get there, you just let me know and we'll take off."

"Thank you, Shane, that does make me feel better knowing that you'll be there with me," Lindsay responded sincerely as she contemplated what she might actually say to Dean when she saw him at the hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital that evening, Shane's prediction turned out to be true. Mom, Dad and Clara were all camped around Dean's bed, watching an episode of _Wheel of Fortune_ on tv. Clara was the first one to spot Lindsay and Shane coming towards the room. Her mouth fell open in shock when she saw Lindsay. She'd never known the truth about what had happened to Dean and Lindsay because everyone had shielded her from the real reason they'd divorced. Instead of telling her that they'd split up because of an extramarital affair, they told her that Dean and Lindsay were just too young and didn't know how to be married people yet, which was probably just as true as the other reason they'd broken up.

"Mom, Shane's back and she brought Lindsay with her," Clara announced.

Dean's mom and dad's first reaction was also one of shock to see Lindsay coming to the hospital, but their next immediate emotion was gratitude and respect, that despite what their son had done to her, she still had enough love and compassion in her heart to care about him.

"Why, hello, Shane. It's so nice of you to come back to see Dean, and Lindsay, we're very pleased to see you, too, honey. We didn't realize you and Shane knew one another," Dean's mother greeted warmly, hugging her closely.

"How you been Lindsay?" Dean's father asked sentimentally, also hugging her warmly as he greeted her. He missed having her as his daughter-in-law.

"I'm fine, thanks. I've been going to college over in Norwich for about a year now to get my degree in Elementary Education and Shane and I are roommates and work together in Norwich now," Lindsay responded.

"Hi Lindsay," Dean said humbly, "thank you for coming with Shane tonight. It means a lot to me that you did."

"Well, in spite of everything that happened between us, I know that you'd have the same thing for me, too, Dean," Lindsay replied sweetly as she bent down and gave him a light kiss on his forehead. "I brought you these," she said, smiling as she set a box of _Mallomar_ cookies on the small night table on the right hand side of his bed.

"You remembered those were my favorite," Dean commented, almost getting misty eyed as he recalled how Lindsay would faithfully pick them up all the time at Doose's market and serve them to him at night after dinner with a glass of milk while they watched their favorite television shows together.

"I guess there's some things you'll just always remember," Lindsay replied, recalling how much she had enjoyed their little routines that were starting to weave their way into the fabric of her life – until princess Rory came along and tore that fabric apart.

"I must say you're doing very well with your life these days, Lindsay," Dean's father commented, admiring how she'd turned her life around from the days of being a stay at home wife while she was with Dean and had gotten very independent. "Your parents must be very proud of you."

"They're…um…" Lindsay stopped herself before she revealed too much about her mother cutting her out of her life and just replied, "oh, I hope they're proud, Mr. Forester."

Shane could sense this visit was getting too emotional for Lindsay and decided to rescue her by cutting it short. "Well, it was nice seeing you all again, but I have a very early class in the morning, so I guess we'll have to go ahead and get going," Shane announced.

"Thank you both for coming by," Dean replied, sorry to see them leave so soon, but grateful that Lindsay still thought enough of him to visit him in the hospital. At least now he knew their marriage hadn't been a total fraud.

As Shane and Lindsay exited the room, they saw Rory and Lorelai walking down the hall in their direction and heading towards Dean's room.

"Wow, this hospital must be getting desperate if they have to bring you two rent-a-sluts in here to entertain the patients," Rory commented snottily, still angry about the episode at Luke's with Lindsay and Logan.

"Listen, Rory, I stupidly put up with your crap when Jess and I were dating because he said you were his friend, but I don't have to put up with it anymore," Shane replied tersely, but calmly. She was fuming on the inside, but she cleverly masked her emotions so Dean and his family could get the full flavor of the "other" Rory, something she knew wouldn't happen if she allowed herself to be sucked into Rory's vortex of hostility.

"Ha! You and Jess never dated," Rory replied dismissively, "he just used you because he wanted to be with me all along. Now get out of my way, I'm here to see Dean."

Lindsay's eyes switched over to Lorelai, wondering when she was going to jump in to either one up Rory's nasty remarks or to tell her to shut up, but she just stood there with a smug look on her face, almost looking like she was proud of Rory for being so vicious.

"Be my guest," Shane said as she swept her arm in the direction of Dean's room, almost savoring what she knew was about to happen.

Rory stepped towards Dean's room with Lorelai following closely behind. As soon as Rory came into the room, she almost did an about face when she saw Dean's parents and Clara hovering around him. Not only was it embarrassing to see them again because they knew she and Dean had slept together while he was still married to Lindsay, but also because they'd just overheard her trashing Lindsay and her friend Shane for no apparent good reason.

Dean glared at Rory. Suddenly the spell she'd held him under for all these years was broken in an instant. If he'd had the strength, he would have told her off and he would have done it well. After all, they'd dated for two years and he knew she had plenty of weak spots he could attack, but instead he cast a sideways glance at his father, which was his silent way of asking his dad to do it for him.

"Did I hear something about rent-a-sluts?" Dean's dad asked. "I asked the nurse to send up a couple of sluts three hours ago. What took you two so long?"

"We are not sluts!" Lorelai protested, lacking her usual witty style of comeback because she was taken off guard since she was so used to everyone in Stars Hollow treating her and Rory like precious little queen bees.

"No, I agree with that Dad," Dean remarked. "They are definitely not sluts; sluts have more class than these two. Get out of my room now and I don't ever want to see or speak to either one of you two bimbos again."

"Hey! My daughter made a special trip to see you. She could have been with her boyfriend, Logan, tonight, but she gave up her precious time with him just to be with you. The least you could do is-"

"The least you two could do is get lost. I used to look up to both of you, but after hearing how you just treated Shane and Lindsay, you're both shit in my book now. Now get out of here. I already have a searing pain in half my body, I don't need you two adding to it by being a pain in my ass."

"Please go," Dean's mother said softly, but firmly, stunned that Rory would have the nerve to show up at the hospital. She had never stopped hating her for being a big part of the reason that she'd lost a wonderful daughter-in-law or for breaking Dean's heart when they were dating in high school.

Mrs. Forester's calm admonition finally convinced Rory and Lorelai to tuck their tails in between their legs and leave quietly. Once they were outside the room, they found themselves face to face with Shane and Lindsay again, who said nothing but just grinned at them, wearing a smile from ear-to-ear, daring either one of them to say anything. Lorelai and Rory knew they were licked and slunk down the hallway, feeling defeated. Rory finally got the message that Dean no longer thought she was queen of the universe, but she consoled herself by telling herself she had a much richer man now who did and chalked Dean up to being yesterday's mashed potatoes.

Shane and Lindsay both poked their head back into the room and thanked Dean's father and Dean for coming to their defense and said goodnight to everyone once again before they left.

On their way back to Norwich, the girls decided to stop off at Pete's Tavern to find out about the gig Lenny had booked them on for Saturday night.

"Well, well, well," Lenny chuckled as he spotted them coming through the door, "you two ladies need to get a life. Don't you have anything better to do than to come here on your day off?"

"Oh, probably, Len," Shane replied playfully, "but my day just isn't complete if I don't get to see that handsome face of yours."

"Flattery'll get you everywhere, doll," he replied as he slid a basket of popcorn down the bar to them and starting pouring them mugs of beer from the tap. "What can I do for you ladies today?"

"Well, for starters you can tell us about that job you booked for us this Saturday," Shane replied.

"Oh, yes...I almost forgot what you were talking about," he replied sheepishly as reached down below the bar and pulled out a lavender colored flier and turned it over to show them the details about the function.

"It's some sort of shindig over at Yale. They need a bartender and someone to help serve hors d'oeuvres. Let's see… it's called _Celebrate University Diversity _and it's being held at the Yale University Art Gallery. Looks like it's some sort of gathering they're throwing for their international students," Lenny commented as he studied the piece of paper.

"What time do they want us over there?" Lindsay asked.

"Ralph told me to ask you all to be there at 5:00. They'll have uniforms for you when you get there and he'll show you where you'll be setting up. I guess the function starts at 7:00, according to this flier."

"Sounds good," Shane replied as she tossed some of the freshly made popcorn in her mouth.

"Sure does," Lindsay said, thankful that it was a party for international students. At least they probably wouldn't have to worry about running into Rory or Logan.

It was as if Shane was reading her mind because she asked Lindsay where Logan was taking her their next date. He'd asked her out again for Tuesday, because as far as he could tell, that seemed to be Lindsay's only free day during the week and that was fine with him because this way he didn't have to explain to Rory where he was since he was always around on the weekends to take her out.

"Mmm…this time he wants to go to Mystic. I'm really enjoying how much he's investing in me for something that he'll never get. It actually doesn't suck being wined and dined in style," Lindsay laughed.

"I guess we'll just follow the same routine and I'll ride over there in the truck. Don't let him take you to the Mystic Aquarium, that's where I'm going to be hanging out in the afternoon while you two are on your so-called date and you call or text me if there's any problems," Shane informed her.

"So far I've been able to hold him off, except for that one stolen kiss he managed to sneak in when we went to _Dev's_ restaurant last week."

"Ewwww…that slime ball actually kissed you?" Shane asked, crinkling her nose in disgust. "What was it like to have those lips on yours?"

"Oh, it definitely made me wish they made lip sanitizer, 'cause if they did, I'd have used the whole bottle to disinfect myself," Lindsay replied, chuckling at the thought of bottled lip sanitizer, wondering if it would come in flavors like some of her favorite lip glosses did.

On Tuesday afternoon Lindsay met Logan at the coffee campus shop. He was all smiles when he spotted her coming into the shop wearing a cranberry colored sweater and a tight, houndstooth-patterned mini skirt with a pair of black, thigh high boots. One of his favorite parts of their dates was seeing what she was going to wear next. In his mind, she always looked like a fashion model and it was going to very rewarding once he got to unwrap her clothing and see her luscious body underneath.

When they got to Mystic, Logan took Lindsay to a restaurant called _Latitude 41 Degrees_, located on the Mystic River. Once again Logan paid the maître d' off to seat them at a prime waterfront table. He ordered an expensive bottle of Pinot Blanc from France and Lindsay absorbed the decor, enjoying the nautical ambiance of the restaurant.

"You must notice that I like taking you to waterfront restaurants when we dine," Logan announced as their wine arrived. "It's because I like to fantasize that you're a beautiful mermaid and I've captured you from the sea and that you're all mine," he murmured as he leaned over and kissed Lindsay on the cheek, simultaneously sliding his hand up her leg.

Lindsay gulped, she wanted to laugh out loud at his stupid mermaid comment, but she also wanted to slap the hell out of him for putting his hand on her leg, but instead she gently pushed his hand off her leg and pretended to be flattered by the mermaid comment.

Usually after they ate, Lindsay had a readymade excuse, telling him why she needed to leave right away, but this time Logan was going to beat her to the punch.

"So, I've booked us the deluxe room with a whirlpool tub and fireplace at the _Whaler's Inn_," Logan announced right as the bill for their meal came, hoping to make Lindsay feel obligated.

"You what?" Lindsay asked, flabbergasted that Logan was more of a scum bucket than even she'd imagined he'd ever be.

"Awww…come on, Lindsay, you don't have to keep pretending to be such a prude to try and impress me…you know you want it as much as I do," he said, grabbing her by the waist as she stood up to leave the table.

"Let go of me, you jerk!" Lindsay ordered, throwing the rest of her wine in Logan's face and yelling so loudly that just about everyone in the restaurant turned to look at her and Logan. She stormed out of the restaurant and as soon as she got away from the parking lot, she phoned Shane right away on the cell phone.

"How's the Aquarium?" Lindsay asked in a huff just as soon as Shane answered.

"Nice, actually, what's wrong, Linds?"

"Can you come get me right away, Shane?" Lindsay pleaded. "I'm in front of a restaurant called _Latitude 41 Degrees_ over at the Seaport."

"I'll be there right away, Linds. You want to come back over to the Aquarium when I pick you up?"

"Sure," Lindsay answered half-heartedly. She really didn't feel like hanging out there, but she could tell Shane was enjoying herself when she called and it definitely sounded better than sitting in a whirlpool tub with Logan. She resigned herself to the fact that Logan was no longer a useful idiot in her _Operation Princess_ _Downsize _campaign, but she still had every intention of getting even with Rory for wrecking her marriage.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **


	7. Chapter 7

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Seven

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean, Logan, Clara, Finn and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

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**Thank you for tuning into the latest episode of "Blondes Have More Fun" and congratulations to Miguel51 for correctly guessing the next character appearing in the story. In the last episode, Logan finally crossed the line with Lindsay and she threw a glass of wine in his face and called Shane to come rescue her.**

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Shane showed up ten minutes later and Lindsay hopped into the truck. "Okay, Shane, I will wander around the aquarium with you. I don't think I am really dressed for this though."

Shane sensed Lindsay probably wasn't that concerned about the way she was dress and that it was more likely she just wasn't in the mood to wander around the aquarium, so she just replied, "Point well made, Linds, come on we'll just go home."

They drove silently out of Mystic through Ledyard and into Norwich. Shane could see that Lindsay was upset and figured she would give her the details in due time.

The falling drizzle of rain began to mix with snow, which was almost to be expected, since it was the type of precipitation that was so common to Southeastern Connecticut during this time of year. Shane turned on the wipers and all you could hear was the purr of the engine and the clip clop of the wipers. Shane looked over at Lindsay, surprised that she had not said anything yet, Lindsay had her eyes closed and a couple of tears stained her cheeks.

Shane pulled the truck over and put her hand on Lindsay's shoulder. "Did he do anything you have not told me about, Lindsay?" Shane asked with a worried tone to her voice.

"No, but I led him on for my own personal gain and even though nothing really happened, somehow I still feel dirty."

"But Lindsay, you just admitted nothing happened because you stopped him before he could really do anything."

"You should have seen him, Shane, he was looking at me like I was trapped animal and he was the lion. I could see him undressing me with his eyes. I don't think I've even encountered anything that sleazy at Pete's. I felt like a piece of meat whenever he stared at me for more than five seconds."

Shane was thinking as she drove. She spotted Pete's up ahead, and decided to pull in. Shane figured the both of them could use a couple of stiff drinks.

The two girls walked in and Ida looked at them with mock surprise, "Boy, are you two becoming the lushes of Norwich!"

"Yeah, yeah, something like that, Ida. Two Miller Lites, please."

Ida noticed that Lindsay was very quiet and not her happy self. She also remembered that the last time she came in here after, what Ida thought was a date, she was quite angry. Something was going on.

Ida returned with the beers, placed them on the bar and asked, "Lindsay, are you having boy troubles?"

Lindsay gave a short laugh, "Not really, just image and self worth problems."

Lindsay drank about half of her beer and said, "Shane, I am going home, you can stay if you want, I'll walk."

"I don't think so, Linds, it's your truck and I need the walk, so go ahead and I will see you back at the apartment."

Lindsay took one last sip of beer and gave Shane a small hug to thank her before she went out into the misty evening.

Ida watched Lindsay depart the tavern, waited a few minutes and then asked Shane, "Okay, I don't want to hear any bullshit. What's going on with Lindsay, Shane?"

"You have all night, Ida? Basically, there is this girl in Stars Hollow who stole her husband, and to make it even weirder, the same girl stole my boyfriend. A guy came in here who was hitting on her and later on we figured out that he was this girl's boyfriend. So Lindsay planned on stealing him away from the other girl so she'd know what Lindsay had gone through when she stole her husband. She went out a few dates with him, but he only had one thing on his mind whenever they got together. Lindsay's a good girl so she wasn't about to fall for his tricks, but he is such a slime ball, that just being around him started making her feel dirty. The last time they went out he propositioned her, so she threw her wine in his face and told him to get lost. I'm sure she'll get over it, but right now I think she's giving herself a needless guilt trip about the whole episode."

"Shane, I don't even know where to start on that story."

You know, Ida, I know you will come up with something, but she does not need to be alone tonight. How about having the kitchen cook me up a pizza and I will take it home. Have them make it with extra cheese mushrooms and sausage, please."

Shane walked the two blocks home, the rain had changed to snow and was starting to accumulate. Shane entered the apartment and took off her shoes and knocked them together to clear the snow. Lindsay had changed into her pj's and a robe and was stretched out on the couch watching TV. Shane placed the pizza on the coffee table, walked to the kitchen for some napkins, and when she came back she told Lindsay to move her fat ass over since she was hungry.

Lindsay shifted on the couch and smiled at her, "You _wish_ you had an ass like mine."

Shane made a show of peering over her back, "Nah, _you_ wish you had one like mine," which evoked a smile from Lindsay.

Shane opened the box and gave Lindsay some napkins. Both girls belonged to the school of thought that it's a sin to eat a pizza on a plate with a knife and a fork. Their proper way of eating a pizza was to take it from the box, fold it, use a napkin to catch the juice before it ran down their arms and if they were eating pizza outdoors, no napkin was needed.

Shane and Lindsay killed the pizza and washed it down with a couple of beers each. No one ever could ever accuse them of being delicate eaters.

The next morning, Shane woke up to a winter wonderland, "Holy shit, where did this come from?" she asked out loud. She checked her cell phone and saw she had a message from school that all classes were canceled. Shane walked out to the kitchen and started the coffee and turned on the TV. The only thing she saw being broadcast on TV was about the freak fall snow storm that had crippled the northeast, and snow depths were expected to reach fourteen inches. She listened to the weather announcer explain how some freak Canadian high pressure system somehow went south and affected some sort of low pressure system, thus turning rain into snow. Shane banged on Lindsay's door and told her coffee was on, school was closed and to come on out and celebrate with her.

Lindsay left her room refreshed and feeling a lot better about herself. Shane could see the difference right away. "Hey, Linds, you look a lot better than you did last night."

"Amazing what a good pizza, beer, a good night's sleep and cancelled classes can do for one's recovery powers."

"Well, Linds, I guess since we are stuck here with all this snow, we could walk down to the bar, Lenny will find some way to open it."

"Shane, I have a four wheel drive, if we need to go anywhere it should not be a problem. Anyway they should get the roads clear sometime today."

They were watching the local news, and listening to all the reports about public transportation being stalled, along with the list of school and business closings. Then one item caught their interest and they listened intently while the news anchor announced that police had new information on the accident on state route 161. A witness had come forward and told police that the car local contractor, Dean Forester was riding in, was side swiped by a red Jaguar traveling at a high rate of speed. Forester was still in the hospital listed as serious, but stable and they noted that the impact had forced Forester's vehicle over the embankment.

"Oh wow, Lindsay, Dean made the news. Most likely because this is now a criminal investigation."

As the day wore on, Shane and Lindsay were getting restless. They nixed the idea of going to Pete's even though it was tempting. "Shane, let's go to Stars Hollow, it will be a blast driving over there in the four wheel drive through the snow."

"Linds, you're out of your mind."

"Come on, you have any better ideas than to sit around here or get drunk at Pete's?"

The trip was fairly uneventful, the truck did not have much trouble and it turned out they did not have to use the four wheel drive too often. Stars Hollow, being further from the coast, had received more snow than Norwich. This was one of the times the girls were glad they were from the unconventional town. The town that was so beautiful when it was covered in snow, that a picture post card would not do it justice. They decided to stop at Luke's for some coffee and to see what was going on.

As soon as they walked in, they heard a young voice call out, "Shane, Lindsay, over here!"

"Hey look, Linds, it's Clara with her parents." They waved and sat at the counter and ordered. For once, Luke really had nothing to flap his gums about; he just silently served up their coffee and tended to his other customers.

Shane felt something tugging on her sleeve and noticed that Clara had silently approached her. "Hi Clara," Shane responded affectionately and ruffled her hair.

"Shane, could you come to the hospital with us? We're going over in a few minutes."

"Hey Clara, no hi for me?" Lindsay asked, but she knew Clara felt funny around her.

Clara shyly said hi to Lindsay and turned her attention back to Shane. "Please come with us to see Dean."

"Go ahead, Shane, I think I want to go visit my parents and see if they have come to their senses yet. Call me when you want to get picked up."

Shane went over to where Mr. and Mrs. Forester were sitting and they assured her that they would be glad to take her over to see Dean.

Before they left, Mrs. Forester came over to Lindsay and asked to speak to her for a minute. "Lindsay, we really appreciate you coming to see Dean last week. I know there is no excuse in the world for what he did to you. I just hope you can find forgiveness in your heart. You're a beautiful, intelligent young woman. Move on from this and don't let it poison the rest of your life."

"Mrs. Forester, I won't, you and Mr. Forester were great to me. I am in the process of figuring a lot of things out and I think I'm going to be okay. Please tell Dean I said hello."

Lindsay watched them leave with Clara hanging on to Shane, talking very animatedly with her. Luke came over and asked Lindsay if she needed anything else. "Yeah give me another cup of coffee."

Luke poured the coffee and asked, "You waiting for somebody?"

Lindsay shook her head in resignation. "Luke what are you trying to imply? No, I'm not waiting for anybody, but you know what gets me? People can sit in here half a morning drinking coffee and you never say a word. Why do _I_ get the third degree?"

"Look, Lindsay, I was just trying to make conversation, no reason to over react."

"You want conversation Luke, tell me how...Oh, forget it Luke, just please pour the coffee and give me the bill."

"Forget what? What were you going to ask me, Lindsay?"

"Nothing Luke, don't worry about it. It's all ancient history."

Lindsay left the money on the counter and walked out to her truck.

Ten minutes later, Lindsay arrived at her parents' house and finally felt like she was returning home as an adult and not the scared little girl that had been driven away by a mother who had tried to rule her with a constant barrage of guilt trips. She took a moment to glance around at her familiar surroundings and noticed that the walk and stoop were shoveled and her mother's car was in the driveway. When she rang the door bell, it felt strange ringing the bell to a house she'd grown up in. Her mother answered the door and coldly asked, "What do you want, Lindsay?"

"I would like to sit down and talk to you, Mom."

"Lindsay, I'll only talk to you if you agree you made a mistake and tell me you've decided to come back home."

"I'm only coming home for a visit. You're my mother so you owe me a conversation. What is wrong with you?"

"Very well, come in and talk if you must," Mrs. Lister said frostily. She led the way to the kitchen table where they sat. Lindsay noticed that she was not even offered a drink.

"Mom, what is your problem with me? Why are you freezing me out?"

"You left the house to go live in Norwich with that girl Shane, a girl with questionable morals. You belong here. How can you and Dean reconcile if you are living in another town, doing God knows what?"

Lindsay felt like someone hit her with a hammer, "What do you mean _reconcile_? I did not do anything wrong, I was a good wife. I don't want him back."

"What do you mean you don't want him back? He is your husband."

"No, Mom - he is my _ex_-husband, I **divorced** him."

"Lindsay, it isn't just about Dean. You need to be here so your father and I can protect you from people who prey on you like Shane. We kept you pure till marriage. It was perfect you married a nice boy."

"Are you for real? No, I'll tell you what you did for me with all your protection and sheltering. I was seventeen and got asked out by a very good looking boy and fell hopelessly in love with him and..."

"We know, Lindsay, we approved of Dean. Aren't you glad that we kept you away from all the boys who wanted to take advantage of you?"

"You know, Mom, I wonder how much you and Dad pressured Dean to have him ask me to marry him? You know, maybe if I had a little more experience and self confidence I would have realized that I was involved with a man on the rebound - a man who was still in love with his former girlfriend. You know if you two did not push and we had waited, maybe he would have fallen in love with me, and maybe we would still be married. Thank you very much. I realize now Dean and I never had a chance. I still think he is a decent man in spite of what he did to me."

Lindsay stood up and tried to control her voice as she continued. "Do you realize that you sent me out to the slaughter? I never had a chance, we never had a chance. That is why I had to get away from you. I needed to grow up. I needed to learn how to make my own decisions."

"Lindsay, I just don't understand what you are talking about."

"Mom, I know, and you don't want to understand it. I need to go, I'll let myself out."

Lindsay drove around town aimlessly. A content peace came over her. She finally voiced the inner nagging feelings she had. Basically, due to her naiveté, she was blinded by Dean's good looks and married a man who was in love with another woman. A sudden realization came over her that Dean wanted to get caught. What other married man would leave a letter written by his mistress where his wife would find it? She then recalled the total arrogance of Rory Gilmore writing about their affair and sending it to Dean. Lindsay laughed at the total absurdity of the whole sordid incident. She was finally free from the demons that had haunted her. She knew now it was time to move on with her life because of all the epiphanies that had come over her in a single afternoon.

She found herself by Shane's house, so she stopped to see Allison and let her know that they were in town. Another absurdity hit her, she had the house key to Shane's house but not her own.

Allison opened the door. "Boy, you look like the cat that swallowed the canary."

Shane actually was enjoying her visit to Dean. She watched how his parents made a fuss over him and was also amused by Clara's not so subtle attempts at hooking her up with her brother. Dean was still very banged up and in some pain. There was a persistent infection that worried the doctors. Shane explained to Mr. and Mrs. Forester that her and Dean were friendly throughout high school, and once got jointly dumped at the same time by Rory and Jess.

Mrs. Forester asked Shane, "You are a nice girl, why did you go out with Jess?" He was a surly, miserable individual from what she had heard.

Shane laughed, "You know, it's funny you say that, Mrs. Forester, he was the only boyfriend I ever had that my mother told me she was disappointed in me for dating. She never said a word against any other one and trust me, I dated some ding dongs."

"Shane," Mrs. Forester asked, "how come you and Dean never dated? It seems like the two of you really get along."

"Well, Dean was definitely a tempting prospect as far as guys go to date, but seems like he started dating Rory Gilmore the minute he got to Stars Hollow High and after they broke up, he started seeing Lindsay almost immediately after that, but at least he and I got to be friends because of our mutually miserable experience of being used by Jess and Rory when they dumped us so they could be together."

Dean interjected, "Has everyone forgotten I'm here and that I'm not in a coma so I can hear everything being discussed? It's a little embarrassing to hear myself being talked about like I'm this week's featured guest on the _The Bachelor_ program."

As if on cue, Clara asked, "Shane, are you going to go out with my brother when he gets out of here?"

Shane blushed, not knowing how to answer, "We'll see, Clara."

Clara looked over at her brother, "You are going to ask her, aren't you?"

Mr. Forester piped in, "Leave it be Clara, I'm sure they will figure it out."

"Figure out what, Dad? He is my brother and Shane is my friend, they should go out on a date."

They all laughed at her logic.

The Foresters had to go and they asked Shane if she needed a lift. "Nope, Lindsay will come by and pick me up when I call her." Shane said her goodbyes and promised Clara she would take her shopping if her parents had no problem with it.

After they left, Shane called Lindsay, "I'm ready to leave, Linds, come get me, let's get a beer and then go see my mom."

Lindsay laughed, "I already saw your mom. I am out getting some stuff for her, so give me about a half hour and I will be there. A beer sounds great."

Shane sat in a chair near the bed, and turned to Dean, "How are you doing?"

"Okay, but I guess it hurts more than it did this morning. Clara can really put you on the spot, can't she?"

"It's okay, Dean, she is a great kid, I don't mind."

Shane and Dean were making small talk, and she noticed that his pain was getting worse and that that he was starting to sweat. "Dean, I am going to get a nurse." Dean grimaced and nodded his head.

Shane returned with the nurse, who inspected Dean's various wounds. She turned to Shane and said, "We need to get a doctor in here." The nurse left to find the on call doctor and Shane pulled her chair next to the bed and took Dean's good hand into her hands and reassured him everything would be all right. She spoke softly and occasionally stroked his forehead.

Lindsay was standing in the doorway watching Shane and Dean. To her amazement, it felt right. Shane was so tender toward the sick man. Lindsay was still standing in the doorway when the doctor arrived. Shane looked up and saw that Lindsay had been watching her with Dean.

The doctor examined Dean and said, "Okay, I see the problem, it is an easy fix. All I need is permission to do a small invasive procedure. He looked to Dean who was out now from the pain killers. "Nurse, can you get his parents? This is a simple fix, but it needs to be done now. "

As if in a trance, Lindsay walked over to the doctor and said, "I am his wife, I give you permission."

The room was cleared and Shane and Lindsay took a seat in the waiting area. "Lindsay, are you crazy? You're _divorced_ from him."

"They don't know that. My driver's license still says Forester."

Fifteen minutes later, Dean's parents returned to the hospital and Lindsay informed them that the doctor had needed permission to administer an emergency medical procedure. She explained that since they weren't there to give the doctor their permission, she'd gone ahead and told the doctor she was Dean's wife to expedite the procedure in their absence.

Shane held her breath, not knowing how Dean's parents were going to react to Lindsay pretending to be Dean's wife or if they were going to get angry because she hadn't waited for them to return to give their permission on behalf of their son, but to her relief, Mrs. Forester embraced Lindsay to express her gratitude. "Thank you so much, sweetie. We truly appreciate what you did for Dean in our absence. "

After they left the hospital, Shane and Lindsay stopped off at the Log Cabin Pub. Their two pool shooting buddies were not around. Shane was making small talk with Rose and Lindsay was just sitting there quietly smiling. Lindsay tapped Shane on the shoulder and said, "I called your mom and told her we stopped off here and she said it was no problem, but I think I have dinner in the truck."

"Don't worry, Mom is cool, she will figure something out or just make me cook it when I get home".

"Shane, I need to talk to you about something," Lindsay announced, suddenly growing serious.

"I think I know what this is about. Lindsay you're my best friend. I am not going to date Dean."

"Shane, I saw how you were with him. I watched you for a while. You like him, and you care about him. If you want to go out with him, you have my blessing. I will always want to see you happy."

Shane looked at Lindsay, and quietly said, "Thank you, I'll see how it goes. Anyway, Linds, we have a catering date this Saturday, so let's talk about that."

Late Saturday afternoon, Shane and Lindsay arrived at Yale, parked the truck and walked around back as instructed and looked for the delivery entrance. "You know Linds, I hate it every time I have to go through the back door. Must be my Irish heritage, you know keep a chip on my shoulder."

"Come on, Shane, we're here to make some money, not a political statement." They walked in and saw about 20 other people milling around, and an older, tall gaunt man running frantically trying to get order amidst the chaos.

"That must be Lenny's friend, he looks exactly like Lenny described him."

"He sure does, Linds, and he acts just as nutty as Ida described him. Let's go see what he wants us to do."

Finally he got everyone's attention, and started reading off names he had on a list. "I see we are all here, my name is Ralph Moore, Ralph will work just fine. Okay, the uniforms will be black slacks or skirt with white shirt and a black bow tie. I know some of you are already dressed that way, so you people don't worry about the uniforms, the rest of you go to the table at the back of the room and select what you need. When you're changed, come back here."

After fifteen minutes, everyone was in the proper attire. "Okay, this is how we are going to do this. You have the main bar, two satellite bars and one in the VIP room. Those of you who are going to wait the tables, half of you will circulate with finger foods and the other half will be responsible for drinks. The bartenders, of course, make the drinks."

Ralph spotted Marty and said, "Okay, Marty, you have been doing this for a while, so I will give you the VIP room. Any preference for a wait person?"

Marty shrugged his shoulders and said, "Makes no difference to me."

Ralph looked around and his eyes settled on Lindsay. "Hey, aren't you one of the girls Lenny recommended?"

"How did you know?"

"Easy, he calls you and your partner Mutt and Jeff, he told me to look out for a short blonde and a tall blonde with great legs, so it must be you. You go with Marty to the VIP room and you…" he said, pointing to Shane, "will be the head bartender at the main bar, Lenny spoke very highly of you."

Shane and Lindsay bumped fists, "See you after the party, Linds."

Marty walked over to Lindsay and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Marty, and what is your name?"

Lindsay stuck out her hand for a shake and said, "Lindsay."

"Okay, Lindsay, let's go to the VIP room and get this thing set up."

Marty showed Lindsay exactly how he wanted it set up. Lindsay liked his firm, no nonsense manner of direction. If she did not know how to do something, he was patient with her and showed her how to do it in a nice way without acting overbearing or condescending.

"Lindsay, I can see your a great waitress, I have done these things for over five years here and I know what is going to happen."

"No problem, Marty, I can see what you are doing will make this more efficient. So where do you work as a bartender?"

Marty laughed, "I am not really a bartender, but it is how I am putting myself through college."

"Oh, cool where do you go, Marty?"

"Here at Yale, I'm a graduate student."

Lindsay looked at him, shocked, "You go to Yale and you tend bar?"

"I have to pay the bills somehow; I don't have a rich family. I received a partial scholarship and the rest I have to earn."

"So, are you going to bar tend for some of your classmates?

"Yes, I have to, sometimes I feel like doing something horrible to their drinks. Especially the idiots in the so called _Life and Death Brigade_."

"What is that, Marty"? Lindsay was racking her brain, thinking she had heard the term somewhere before.

"A bunch of rich morons that should be removed from the human gene pool. So where do you work, Lindsay?"

At a local tavern called Pete's in Norwich, plus I go to school there at Three Rivers Community College."

"So you're a Norwich girl?

Lindsay smiled, "Not really, both my friend and I are from Stars Hollow."

Marty stiffened. "Stars Hollow? I know someone from Stars Hollow."

"You do? Then I should know the person. The place isn't that big. Is this person a friend of yours?

"'I don't know what category I could put her under. It's a long story."

Lindsay wondered if it could be Rory, since she went to Yale also, Marty did not seem like he wanted to continue that conversation, so Lindsay dropped it.

Everything was set up and they were waiting the start of the event. "Marty, I am going to go see my friend Shane for a few minutes, I will be right back."

Marty waved his hand, "Take your time."

Lindsay walked over to Shane, who was in conversation with Ralph and he spotted her coming over. "So now I have both halves of the dynamic duo together. Sorry I split you two up."

"No problem, Ralph, I know you have to spread our hotness around."

Ralph chuckled, "That is one way of putting it, Shane. I'll talk to you later."

"So Linds, who is the cute guy Ralph stuck you off in a private room with?"

"He's a nice guy Shane. His name is Marty. Believe it or not, he is a grad student here at Yale."

"You're kidding, Linds, and he works as a bar tender?"

"No I am not, and he knows someone from Stars Hollow, but he did not seem to want to talk about it."

"Linds, I would assume it would be Rory as she goes to school here."

"I would also, but I did not want to push him, by the way he is a cutie. I kind of like how he does things."

Shane gave Lindsay the look. "You know, this is the first time I have ever heard you use the word 'cutie' in a sentence to describe the way a guy looks, are you interested in him?"

"Shane, give me a break, anyway the place is starting to fill up," she remarked to avoid answering Shane's question. "I'll see you after the event."

Shane watched Lindsay walk away through the rapidly filling room. A "cutie" she said out loud, reflecting on Lindsay's assessment of Marty's looks. _I wonder where this might lead to_? Shane thought with hopeful curiosity. She was happy to see that Lindsay was coming out of her shell and realized that she had finally stopped blaming herself for the collapse of her marriage. Shane turned to Ralph, who had returned, and said, "Ralph, some guy is going to get his world rocked soon."

Ralph gave Shane a puzzled look, "What do you mean, Shane?"

"I think Lindsay might like a certain bartender here," she replied, smiling brightly."

"Well, the guy she is paired up with has no girlfriend, but he has been walking around pining for this one girl for years."

That's a shame Ralph. Did the girl know it?"

"Yeah, she knew it, I can't say she used him, but she should have done something about it. It was like she enjoyed stringing him along. Basically, Marty was used as a filler when her idiot boyfriend was off on one of his inane wanderings. What got me was that the group she hung out with would make fun of Marty. They made sure he knew his place in life. They were born to wealth. It was incredible the way they talked down to him."

"Will they be here tonight? I'd like to see who they are."

"I think so, one of the groups coming tonight are students from Australia, so I know at least one of them is invited to this function. You know, I cater too many of these events. I know just about who is going to show up and what they are like. It is amazing what alcohol will bring out in people's personalities. Time for us to get back to work, Shane," Ralph said abruptly, then walked off.

Lindsay could see that Marty was one hell of a bartender. No wasted motion, never at a loss for words. She really liked his dry sense of humor. Marty started calling her Daddy Long Legs, which he shortened to "Legs." Every time she came back to the bar to place an order, he had something funny to say to her. He would point to some guy and say, "Legs, you really should have heard what he said about you."

At first Lindsay fell into the trap, then she realized that Marty was making things up. It was hilarious. Lindsay was having fun, one time she laughed so loudly, people turned to see where the noise came from. Lindsay also noticed that he was tall enough so she could wear heels when they went out. Then the thought hit her, _Why did I even think that? _Lindsay then realized that she was starting to fall for Marty and wanted to see him again.

Lindsay was returning to the bar when she almost dropped her tray. Standing at the bar in a conversation with Marty was Rory Gilmore. Lindsay also recognized the man she assumed Rory was with as the guy who hung out with Logan and remembered his name was Finn. She couldn't help notice that he also had a bad bruise on his cheek. _This sucks_, she thought when she spotted them together, wishing she could escape. "Marty, I need three beers and one Scotch on the rocks," Lindsay said quickly, trying to ignore Rory and Finn for as long as she could.

Rory and Finn turned and looked at her and Marty, not knowing any better, introduced them to each other, "Rory, meet my partner in crime. This is Lindsay, also known as Legs."

Marty expected a handshake or 'hi, how are you,' but what he saw instead were two pissed off females glaring at each other. Finn, on the other hand was very happy to see Lindsay. "Lindsay, why are you here?" Then he blurted out, "Don't you have a hug for me?"

Lindsay looked over at Finn, "Get over yourself, not happening."

Marty was now totally confused. Lindsay's voice snapped him back to reality, "The order, Marty."

Marty filled the order and Lindsay walked off.

"How do you two know her?" Marty asked.

Then Rory turned to Finn, "How do _you_ know her?"

"Rory, she is just some waitress that works in a bar in Norwich that we stop at."

Rory's eyes narrowed, "What are you guys doing in Norwich?"

"There's a drinking hole there that we stop at sometimes on our way home from Foxwood Casino. It's a quaint little pub called Pete's Tavern. We like to go there to break up the long ride home and also to check out the foxy sheilas they have working there."Finn turned to Marty and asked, "So you fancy Lindsay, do you mate?" Without waiting for an answer from Marty, he continued on, "Don't bother, she is out of your league. Besides, I am thinking about asking her out myself. I need a little diversion."

"Finn, you're an asshole. Why do you even associate with him?" Marty asked Rory incredulously. "And how do _you_ know Lindsay, Rory?"

"Watch your mouth, Marty or I will have your job."

"Be quiet, Finn," Rory ordered, "let me talk to Marty."

Rory sighed, "Marty, Lindsay is from Stars Hollow. We are not friends, besides I think she was after my Logan."

Lindsay returned to the bar. She sensed some sort of conflict happened in her absence.

Rory turned to her. "Lindsay, may I speak to you for a moment?"

As the two girls walked away, Finn turned to Marty and said, "I am definitely going to nail your waitress, you ought to see her in a short dress."

"Finn, you are the most obnoxious individual to ever set foot on this planet. I take that back, your buddy Logan is."

"Hey mate, don't run him down when he is not here to defend himself. By the way, he gave Rory his fraternity pin last week, so we'll probably be hearing wedding bells before you know it. "

That news startled Marty. He shook his head. He could never understand it. The Rory he had a crush on for years was mostly a kind, sweet considerate individual. She, however, did think she was the center of the universe, and it seemed that Logan brought out the worst in her. He could never understand the attraction she had for that bastard. His unrequited feelings for her had mostly abated, but Marty still felt a friendly affection for Rory.

Lindsay and Rory stepped out onto a terrace off the private room. It was cold and there were brief flurries of snow driven by the chilly wind.

"Lindsay, I want to apologize for calling you a slut, that was uncalled for, but I was so mad at you for flirting with Logan."

Lindsay was amazed, "Rory, you're mad at me for flirting with Logan, and you slept with my husband and broke up my marriage and you're mad at me for _flirting_, are you for real?"

"You never should have married him Lindsay, he was _my_ Dean."

"_Your_ Dean?" Lindsay said loudly, "then why are you here and not with him at the hospital?"

"Because Logan pinned me and I'm waiting for our relationship to go to the next level, if you know what I mean."

Lindsay started to realize that Rory was so spoiled that she had a total disconnect with reality.

Rory let me ask you a question. "Let's say Dean gets married again, is he still your Dean?

Rory looked confused." Look, Lindsay, I came out here to apologize to you for what I said, also could you pass it on to Shane when you see her."

"Rory, you're a trip. You know..." Lindsay stopped herself abruptly, she was about to tell Rory about Logan and realized it was not the time or place and that there was probably no need to, since _Operation Princess Downsize _had already been scrubbed in her mind, and just said, "I am freezing and I need to get back to work." Then she turned and went back into the VIP room immediately and noticed the room was full of thirsty students, who were already barraging Marty at the bar even though she'd only been gone for five minutes.

The rest of the evening went smoothly, but Marty was now quiet, and the funny quips were gone.

The event ended and they turned to the task of cleaning the rooms up. Ralph came by and checked to see if everything was okay, and if everyone wanted to grab a beer when they were done to relax.

Marty grabbed two beers and pointed to a table and told Lindsay, "Let's have a beer relax and split up the tips."

"Marty, I did not realize you knew Rory Gilmore."

Marty took a long sip of his beer before he answered Lindsay. "I did not realize you knew her either, what a small world. By the way, I sensed tension between you two. What gives?"

Lindsay liked Marty and did not want to scare him away with her tale of woe. She knew it was not worth getting into it with Marty and decided to switch the tables on him instead. "Well, it might have looked like there was some tension, but there's really nothing to tell. I did sense that you had a thing for her or did at one time. Your whole personality changed when she came to the bar."

Marty turned red. "Is it that obvious? You're right, but I am over it. I like her as a friend now, but at one time she sent me a lot of mixed signals that I misread. I don't know, I thought I was going to be with her. You know, she is a sweet girl, I cannot understand why she is with Logan and his bunch of idiots, they bring out the worst in her. I think Logan is going to destroy that fairy tale life she lives in."

"Marty, you are over her, right?"

"Yeah, I am. Lindsay, let's go see Ralph and get our pay. I am over this place."

They walked to the main entrance and Lindsay spotted Shane. "Excuse me, Marty, that is my friend Shane, I'll see you in a minute."

"Hey, Linds, I was wondering what you two were doing back there. We're the last ones left."

"Shane, Rory Gilmore was here tonight. She was with that Finn asshole that comes into Pete's."

"I thought I saw her."

"Oh, by the way, she apologized to me for calling us sluts."

Shane looked up in amazement. "You're kidding?"

"No, and there is a lot more. I will fill you in on the ride to Stars Hollow."

"Well, did the cutie ask you out?"

Lindsay shrugged, "No he did not, but you know he did _or_ still does have a crush on Gilmore."

"You're not serious, are you? You know that is a shame. He did have real big hands."

Lindsay turned scarlet, "Oh my God Shane, where do you come up this stuff?"

Shane was laughing "Let's get out of here."

They found Ralph, got their pay and thanked him for the job.

"Shane, I'd like to use you and Lindsay again, you guys were a big help and Lenny was right about you two."

On the ride back to Stars hollow, Lindsay told Shane about her encounter with Rory and Finn.

"You know, Linds, Rory does have a disconnect from reality. Her dingbat mother and her grandparents have on this pinnacle. Her whole life she has been told she's special. You know she refers to her men as 'my Logan,' and she still calls Dean, 'my Dean.' She even told me I never should have married Dean, because he still belonged to her."

"'My Dean', my ass. If she comes near him, I will kick _her_ ass."

"Are we getting a bit possessive, Shane?"

"Linds, just pay attention to your driving."

They turned down Maple Terrace to Shane's house. It was quiet, but the lights were on. Allison heard them pull up and greeted them at the door. "So how did it go?"

"Pretty good, Mom, they told us that they would like to use us again, and guess what? Rory Gilmore was there."

"Well, she does go to Yale or did go to Yale, I am not sure what her status is. There is left over meat loaf and mashed potatoes in the fridge, help yourself. Don't drink all the beer, your father is coming home tomorrow. See you two in the morning.

**On Sunday afternoon…**

"Let's go Linds, time to go to work."

Lindsay walked out of her room and stretched, "You know the money was good, but I did miss my Saturday off."

"You're just still bummed out that you were not asked out by Marty."

Lindsay walked over to Shane and put her hands on her shoulders and looked down at her. "Shane what is the matter with me? I was sure he was going to ask me out. His whole demeanor changed after Gilmore showed up."

"Look, Linds, if it was meant to be it will happen.

Pete's was jumping when the girls got there to start their shift. The New York Jets were playing the New England Patriots. You could hardly hear yourself think. The crowd was evenly divided between the two teams. Shane got behind the bar and promptly tended to three harried waitresses. Lindsay had a short conversation with Tiffany and they divided up the tables, which were all full. Lindsay was slightly baffled at how efficiently she and Tiffany worked together, considering they really did not get along very well under any other circumstances.

Shane looked at the clock, it was eight thirty and the crowd was still going strong. Usually it thinned out by now. It didn't appear they were going to get out of here early tonight. Shane swore every time she looked at Lenny she could see dollar signs in eyes. Shane noticed a guy at the corner of the bar standing in the last six inches of available space. She went down to get his order. He looked familiar. It was that Marty guy that Lindsay worked with. She spotted Tiffany and waved her over. "Ask Lindsay to come over and see me please."

A few moments later Lindsay appeared, "What's up?"

Shane pointed to the corner of the bar, "See the guy standing there with his back to the bar, go say 'hi' to him."

"Why?"

"Just do it, Linds."

Lindsay shrugged her shoulders and walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

Marty turned and grinned at her, "You finally realized I was here."

Lindsay felt a little jolt of pleasure. "What are you doing here, Marty?"

"I forgot to ask you something. I wanted your phone number."

Lindsay was smiling. Then Marty added, "We worked so well together, I figured I would call you the next time I had a catering job."

Lindsay's mouth dropped open, "You want my number for _work_?"

"Yeah, like I said, we worked well together."

Lindsay shook her head and walked off without a word. _I must have the word 'loser' tattooed to my forehead,_ she thought unhappily.

The crowd was thinning out and Lindsay noticed that Marty was still at the bar. She shook her head, disbelievingly. "Hey, Tiff let's divide up the tips and we can go back to disliking each other," Lindsay quipped sarcastically because Marty's clueless business proposal had launched her into a very foul mood.

Tiffany looked at her strangely and simply replied, "Whatever," unable to think of a more clever comeback for Lindsay because she was usually the one that dished out the sarcastic remarks at the bar and she wasn't used to being the one being blindsided by them.

Marty took advantage of the quiet and beckoned Shane over. "Hey, you were at the Yale thing Saturday with Lindsay?"

"Yes and you're Marty, aren't you?"

"Yep, I asked Lindsay for her phone number so I could call her to work some more events with me. She just walked away from me, though. I thought we got along well the other night."

"You wanted her number for _work_?"

"Yes, I just said that."

"You're an idiot."

Marty's jaw dropped, "An idiot? Why am I an idiot?"

"You really don't know, do you?"

"Know _what_? I made a perfectly reasonable request, and now I'm an idiot?"

Lenny came over and joined the conversation. "Yes, you are an idiot."

Marty stood up, "Would someone please tell me why I'm an idiot?"

Lenny shook his head, "Look dude, Lindsay expected you to ask her out on a date, not an offer of employment."

Now it was Marty's turn to be amazed. "No, you're the idiots. She belongs on the cover of Vogue. If I couldn't get a girl like Rory Gilmore to like me, how would I ever expect someone like Lindsay to go out with me?"

"Marty, you are so unbelievably blind that you're gonna force me to play cupid because you haven't got the sense to realize Lindsay is crazy about you. What are you, a man or a little boy?" Lenny groused. "Lindsay… come over here," he ordered.

Lindsay walked over, "What do you need, Lenny?"

"Okay dude, ask her," Lenny demanded.

"Lindsay, err…umm…I don't know how to say this and I don't blame you if you get mad, but they all seem to think you want me to ask you out. Look I don't want to put you on the spot..."

"Marty, do you want to ask me out or do you just enjoy working with me?" Lindsay asked expectantly.

"Well, both, I had a blast working with you, but I never dreamed someone like you would even considering dating me. So..uh..would you like to go out sometime?" he asked nervously, still convinced Finn was right, that Lindsay was way out of his league.

Lindsay walked over to Marty and took his face in her hands and kissed him, saying, "There's your answer. I'm not big on 'someday' or 'sometime,' by the way, so please let me know when you want to go out before you leave."

"I've never been a big one for uncertainty, either, Lindsay," Marty replied frankly. "I'd love to take you to dinner this week, but I don't know your work schedule. _You_ name the night and the place you'd like to eat at and I'll be more than happy to go when and wherever you want to go to."

"Well…there's a cute little place to eat here in town I like, called the _Old Tymes Restaurant_ and I'm not working on Tuesday night," Lindsay replied, purposely choosing this restaurant because the food was not only good, but their prices were very reasonable. She knew Marty was on a tight budget and she also wanted a completely opposite experience from the one she'd just had with Logan. All that expensive wining and dining had just soured her stomach because Logan's slimy motives of spending lots of money on her just to try and get her in the sack had made her sick and all the American Express gold cards in the world couldn't erase that.

"Okay, _Old Tymes Restaurant_ on Tuesday it is. I can pick you up here or at your apartment at 7:00," Marty replied.

"You can pick me up here, that's fine," Lindsay replied. She liked Marty a lot, but she still wanted to get to know him better before she let him know where she lived. "Well, I need to start cleaning up; I'll come back and join you at the bar when I'm through."

Marty sat back down, wearing a silly grin on his face. Lenny poured him a shot of bourbon. "It's on me, you need it."

When Lindsay finished her cleaning tasks, she joined Marty and was quietly talking to him at the bar. Lenny changed the channel on the TV to the eleven clock news and Shane turned to watch it. There was the usual brief rundown of the national news and then the endless weather. They broke away from the newscast for a station break and showed the mandatory commercial for buying cars and yet another one of those irritating commercials for the GEICO cavemen. After the announcement said, "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It," the news commentator returned and informed viewers, "We have some breaking news," he said, pausing purposely to draw more attention to himself. "An arrest has been made in the hit and run accident that seriously injured local contractor Dean Forester. Logan Huntzburger, the heir to a publishing empire which includes three newspapers in Connecticut, has been arrested. The red Jaguar involved in the accident is registered to him. The car was taken to a body shop and the owner of the shop recognized the car from the description given by the police. Huntzburger was taken into custody and was released on one hundred thousand dollars bail."

Shane walked over to Lindsay, "You hear that? Logan got himself **busted**."

Marty turned to Shane and said, "I just don't see what Rory sees in that jerk."

"There's no telling," Lindsay answered for Shane and then excused herself to go to the ladies room to digest this latest bombshell in the hit and run saga. Something didn't quite seem right about this, especially since Logan had always squired her around in a black Porsche and not a red Jag, but she reasoned that maybe with his family's wealth that it was conceivable he very well might have two very expensive cars.

Shane took advantage of Lindsay's absence and corned Marty to make sure he wasn't still harboring feelings for Rory, "I am going to ask you this once and you better tell me the truth. Are you sure you're over Gilmore?"

"Yes I am. Why?"

"Marty, do you know what your 'sweet' little friend Rory did to Lindsay?"

Marty was getting confused and a little nervous, "Uh...no, I'm not quite sure that I do."

"Marty, Lindsay was married to Rory's ex-boyfriend, Dean Forester, and when Rory got dumped by _my_ ex-boyfriend, Jess, who she stole away from _me_, she decided she wanted Dean back and slept with him and broke up Lindsay's marriage. I know Rory well enough to know she's going to be rooting around, trying to dig up one of her old boyfriends if Logan goes away to the clink and I need to know _you_ aren't going to be sucked in again by her inexplicable charms. Lindsay is just starting to recover from what happened to her and if you decide to stab her in the back to be with Rory, she will absolutely be devastated and then I will absolutely destroy you. "

"Why wouldn't she just try to get Dean back again if that's her pattern?"

"Oh, trust me…she's definitely not going to make _that_ mistake again," Shane replied confidently, recalling the incident at the hospital and knowing if there was even the remotest possibility that her and Dean were going out that there was no way Rory was going to succeed in stealing another boyfriend from her.

"Look, Shane, I like Lindsay. I am not going to say we are going to live happily ever after, we may fizzle out after one date, but it would not be on account of Rory Gilmore. I still can't believe Lindsay wants to go out with me."

"That's fair enough, Marty," Shane replied, satisfied that he was being sincere about his intentions.

**To be continued... **


	8. Chapter 8

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Eight

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean, Logan, Marty and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

On Monday morning, Shane woke up bright and early and was craving powdered sugar doughnuts. It was one of her favorite breakfast treats and she'd forgotten to pick them up at the supermarket the day before. She looked at the half empty box of plain corn flakes in the kitchen cabinet and frowned. Whenever she had a craving this strong, she couldn't concentrate on anything else until her urge was satisfied. She glanced at the clock, it was only six-thirty and the supermarket wasn't open yet, but she knew she could take a trip down to the _Dixie Donuts_ shop on Town Street and get her fix.

She threw her coat over her pajamas and stepped into a pair of her rattiest sneakers and then jumped in the truck to head over to the doughnut shop. Five minutes later she was there and there was already a big crowd gathered at the counter. Unlike the doughnuts at the supermarket, these doughnuts were warm and fresh and she decided she would get a half dozen powered doughnuts and a half dozen chocolate glazed, since she knew those were Lindsay's favorite. After waiting in line for what seemed like forever, she placed her order and asked the counter girl to throw in two large cups of hazelnut flavored coffee with it.

On the way home, she glanced at the truck's fuel gauge and decided she'd better fill up the tank. She and Lindsay had used quite a bit of gas over the weekend, but neither of them had thought about stopping to fill up on their way back from Stars Hollow. She frowned because she'd left her debit card at home, so that meant she had to go inside to pay for it. On her way out of the store, she noticed the newspaper machine and decided to stop and buy one. Rarely did she or Lindsay bother to get a paper, but she figured since they were right in front of her, she might as well buy it for a change.

The coffee and doughnuts were still warm by the time she got home and she didn't want Lindsay drinking cold coffee or not being able to enjoy her doughnuts while they were still warm, so she banged on Lindsay's door to wake her up.

"Up! Up! Up, Lindsay! Life's too short to sleep through it!" Shane yelled out playfully while banging on the door.

Lindsay finally came out of her room and looked groggy and grumpy. Unlike Shane, she was definitely not a morning person.

"Geesh! What's the big emergency, Shane?"

"The emergency is that your coffee is going to get cold and if you don't eat your chocolate glazed doughnut soon, it's not going to have that fresh from the fryer flavor anymore."

Hearing that Shane had brought her a chocolate glazed doughnut suddenly brought Lindsay back to life.

"You brought me a chocolate doughnut? **Yay!**" she gurgled like a little girl, eager to try the tasty treat as soon as possible.

"I didn't bring you _a_ chocolate doughnut. I brought you a _half dozen_ chocolate doughnuts. Go ahead and get 'em, they're in the kitchen on the counter, along with a hazelnut flavored coffee. I'll be there in a minute, as soon as I hang up my coat."

"Why did you change back into your pajamas?" Lindsay asked as she spied Shane coming into the kitchen.

"Oh, I never took them off. Who's going to see them under my coat?" Shane replied nonchalantly, as she reached into the box and pulled out a powdered sugar donut.

"You're too much, Shane," Lindsay laughed and then turned her attention to the newspaper lying on the table, next to the box of doughnuts. "Wow, you even got the morning paper, I'm impressed."

Lindsay and Shane took apart the paper and started perusing it while they had their breakfast. Shane grabbed the style section and Lindsay took the news to read.

All of the sudden Lindsay looked up from the story she was reading in shock, "Shane!"

"What is it, Linds?" Shane asked curiously.

"They have a story here about Dean's accident and Logan being charged. It says here that the accident took place at 1:13 p.m. on November 28th. Logan couldn't possibly have been the one that hit Dean in that red Jag at that time of day. He was with me at the campus coffee shop."

"Are you sure, Linds?"

"Yes I am, just wait a second, I'll be back," Lindsay said, disappearing into her bedroom. "See, this proves it, just look at this receipt from the campus coffee shop."

"Well, I'll be darned you're right…November 28th, 1:16 p.m. By the way, how come Logan didn't pop for the coffee?"

"Oh, Shane, give me a break, I bought us coffee that day because I didn't think the little worm should have to pay for everything. Thank goodness it shows two coffees on there, it might help him prove where he was."

"Yeah, well, you're gonna have to speak up about this one. As slimy as he is, he can't go to jail for a crime he didn't commit," Shane proclaimed, reluctantly coming to Logan's defense.

"Mmm…I guess I should notify the police later on today," Lindsay agreed.

"Well, if you'd like, I could go with you over to the Stars Hollow Police Department after our morning classes," Shane offered.

"I guess that'd be the best option. I really don't want to have to track Logan down and try to discuss this with him face to face because that could turn into a whole big thing. I'll just go to the cops and let them know what I know and they can hash it out with his lawyers," Lindsay replied.

After their morning classes, Shane and Lindsay met for lunch at the campus dining room. Lindsay decided to get a grilled chicken sandwich on whole wheat with a cup of tomato soup instead of her usual salad, and Shane got a chili cheese hot dog with curly fries. Even though they had pigged out on doughnuts in the morning, they were both starving by 1:00 because they'd eaten breakfast so early.

"So, Linds, guess it's back to Stars Hollow again today. If I were you, I'd make a copy of that receipt and give them that and just hold on to the original, I don't exactly trust any Stars Hollow government official to be completely on the ball."

"Good thinking, Shane. I can stop over and make some copies at the campus library before we leave," Lindsay agreed.

They finished up their lunch and Lindsay quickly made her copies and they were on their way.

When they got to the police department, they spotted Taylor meandering through the hallways and figured he was probably just bored and hanging around to be nosy. They ignored him when they walked past him because he was an obnoxious irritant and neither one of them was in the mood to entertain him. He glanced at them and noted their unfriendliness and started to wonder what they were doing at the police department and followed them down the hallway to eavesdrop on their business.

They stopped at the information desk to inquire about whom they should speak to regarding the Forester hit and run accident and the clerk said she could take down their information and direct them to the proper official.

As Taylor overheard Lindsay telling her story, he naturally couldn't restrain himself and decided it was his civic "duty" to butt in.

"Sooooo"…he drawled in his typically accusing tone of voice. "You're here to tell the police that Logan Huntzberger didn't commit the hit and run? Sounds mighty suspicious to me, young lady. I remember that day when you littered our lovely town square with Dean Forester's unmentionables from your apartment window. I bet you cooked up this whole thing with Logan to get even with Dean for sleeping with that Gilmore Girl! Didn't you, Miss Lister?" he yelled out, suddenly feeling like he was a big important prosecuting attorney in a courtroom.

"Bag it, Taylor!" Shane yelled out angrily.

"And you…you're the tramp who came to the Stars Hollow Dance Marathon and sat there with that little street urchin, Jess Mariano, making wisecracks at our dance contestants and then stole those delicious tofu egg salad sandwiches made by our illustrious antique shop owner, Mrs. Kim. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I don't have anything to say to you, you fat ass tub of lard," Shane replied heatedly.

"Uh…huh, I didn't think so. Neither one of you can defend yourselves when you know you're guilty of the aforementioned crimes," Taylor replied with his usual smugness as he started to turn and walk away.

"_**I**_ was there at the Dance Marathon, Shane didn't call anybody any names at the dance, only her boyfriend, Jess did," Kirk remarked, appearing out of nowhere.

"Kirk! I'm warning you to stay out of this discussion," Taylor growled, stopping in his tracks.

Kirk ignored him for once and continued, "And furthermore, Miss Lister could not have cooked up anything with Logan Huntzberger. I know, I was one of the witnesses who saw the car. There were two males in the car, which removes her from the scene of the crime," he added. Kirk was generally considered to be on the high end of the scale for the town crazies and he was usually terrified of contradicting Taylor, but he was always an honest person and falsely accusing people of crimes they didn't commit went against his nature.

"Ah-ha, now you've done it, Kirk! You've openly defied me and I'm adding your inexcusable act of insubordination to our discussion items for tonight's town meeting."

"Eat shit," Kirk replied and then turned to Lindsay and Shane. "I'll be happy to join you when you make the statement to the officer to reiterate my recollection of the accident."

Shane and Lindsay gave Kirk a high five and Taylor skulked away, shocked that Kirk had actually stood up to him, he looked extremely bewildered and was mumbling to himself in disbelief.

After Lindsay and Kirk made their statements to the police chief, Shane and Lindsay headed over to Allison's to visit for a few minutes. They wouldn't be able to stay too long since they had to work that night, but Shane wanted to stop by and see her father and introduce him to Lindsay. Shane's father, Patrick, was a First Mate in the Merchant Marines and was often away for months at a time. He'd come home that Sunday night, after Shane and Lindsay had left for work and he'd be staying in town until a few days after Christmas and Shane and Allison were extremely grateful they'd have him home with them for the holidays.

"This is a nice surprise!" Allison said when she opened the door and found Shane and Lindsay standing on the other side. "You two come on in and see Shane's father. Are you all staying with us for dinner?"

"Oh no, Mom, we'd love to, but we can't. We have to work on Monday nights. We can only stay for a little while today."

"Well, okay, what brought you two to town today, then?"

"It's a long story, Mom, we'll explain more about it when we come back on Saturday."

"Mmm…must have been an interesting reason, but if you don't have time to go into it now, I understand. Well, let's not stand around here eating up time if you can't stay long, I'll go get you all something to drink and Shane, you two go into the living room and tell your father hello."

"Daddy!" Shane cried out when she saw her father sitting in his favorite reclining chair.

Patrick Ryan rose to hug his daughter. He had a tear in the corner of his eye as held his precious little girl in his arms. Shane was his pride and joy. Sometimes the two would butt heads because they were cut from the same stubborn piece of cloth, but most of the time they both shared the same keen Irish wit and sense of humor and understood each other very well. Patrick loved the line of work he was in, but he often missed his wife, Allison and his daughter, Shane, very deeply when he was away at sea.

"Well, hello there," he said as he spotted Lindsay.

"Hello, Mr. Ryan, it's very nice to finally meet you. I'm Lindsay Lister, Shane's best friend and roommate."

"And it's very nice to finally meet you, too, Lindsay. My wife, Allison, and my daughter, Shane, have such wonderful things to say about you," he returned warmly.

"And I've heard such great things about you, too, Mr. Ryan. It's such a privilege to get to meet you since you're gone so much of the time."

"Well, it is hard to be away as much as I am, but that's why I try to make the most of the time I have when I'm home. Speaking of which, Shane, your mother and I are going to the _Lantern Light Tours _at the Mystic Seaport on Saturday, would you and Lindsay like to join us?"

"What's the _Lantern Light Tours, _Dad?" Shane asked.

"It's an outdoor celebration at the Seaport, they take you back in time to Christmas Eve in 1876, they have actors dressed up in period costumes, horse-drawn sleigh rides and then you get to hang out a 19-century-style-tavern," he answered.

"Well, if we get to drink at a 19th century tavern, count us in," Shane answered laughingly.

Allison appeared with two tall glasses of Coke and Shane and Lindsay drained them quickly, then told Allison and Patrick they needed to get going and that they'd be back on Saturday.

Shane turned the radio on for their ride home back to Norwich because it was the time of day when the political talking heads flooded the air waves and she enjoyed mocking every one of them. When the commercial break came on, she suddenly remembered that Lindsay had a date with Marty tomorrow and started quizzing her about what she was going to wear since the _Old Tymes Restaurant, _where they'd be dining_, _wasn't exactly the most romantic spot in town.

"So Linds, what are you going to wear to the _Old Tymes Restaurant_? There's a reason they call it the _**Old**__ Tymes Restaurant_, you and Marty are probably going to be the only customers in there under 60," Shane wisecracked. "Why on earth did you pick that place out?"

"Shut up, Shane!" Lindsay laughed. "It's not that bad a place and it's cheap, Marty isn't your typical spoiled little rich Yale brat, he has to pay for most of his school himself."

"You're going from riches to rags, huh? I don't know, Linds, doesn't sound like a very good deal to me," Shane teased.

"Shut up, Shane," Lindsay said again, laughing even harder this time.

"I'm hungry!" Shane announced.

"Good grief, Shane, how can you possibly be hungry after all the food we've eaten today?" Lindsay asked incredulously. "Do you wanta stop off and get something before we go home and get ready for work?"

"Nah, that's okay," Shane replied, "tonight's Monday Night Football, so Lenny'll put out a nice spread at half time."

"Yeah, I forgot about that. Guess I'd better be careful and not each too much or I'll end up getting fat and Marty won't want to go out with me anymore."

"Good, that means more Buffalo wings and tacos for me then," Shane replied.

"Hey, you'd better be careful, too, Dean definitely doesn't like fat girls," Lindsay remarked, letting it slip that she'd already put Shane and Dean together in her mind.

"Well, I guess he made an exception for Rory, then, didn't he?" Shane said, laughing.

"Oooh…you're too mean, Shane. Rory isn't fat," Lindsay noted fairly.

"She isn't skinny either," Shane remarked, refusing to cut her any slack.

"Commercial break's over, Shane, you can go back to insulting Sean what's his face now and stop picking on poor Rory," Lindsay replied.

On Tuesday morning, Lindsay woke up and realized she was going to be going out on her first date since her divorce and as happy as she was to be going out with Marty, the thought of being with a new man made her extremely nervous.

She went into the kitchen and poured herself a coffee and had one of her doughnuts that was leftover from the day before and noticed Shane was doing the same thing.

"Shane, I'm nervous about tonight, I don't know what I'll say, I don't know what to wear. Marty's a great guy and I don't want to blow it."

"Linds, this guy's ten times more nervous than you are. If you had messy hair, wore your blouse inside out and the only two words you said tonight were 'hi' and 'goodbye,' he'd still be happy to be with you, so quit worrying."

"Thanks, Shane, that does help me feel less nervous…but the truth is that part of the reason I'm nervous is that Marty's the first man I'm going out with since my divorce and on some level it feels like I'm cheating on Dean – which is ironic that I feel that way since that's exactly what Dean did to me," Lindsay said, sighing.

"Linds, that's normal to feel that way, but after you've had your first date with Marty, you'll feel fine. And technically _Logan _was the first man you dated after your divorce," Shane teased.

"First of all, I wouldn't exactly call those actual dates I had with Logan and secondly, I don't think he's qualified to be called a real man," Lindsay quipped.

"Stop picking on poor Logan," Shane replied, getting her back for telling her to stop picking on Rory the day before.

"Okay! Okay! I guess I deserved that," Lindsay conceded laughingly. "Now make yourself useful, Shane, and come help me pick out my wardrobe for night. I want to wear something that says I'm innocent, but alluring all at the same time."

"Perhaps you could go as a topless nun," Shane quipped wickedly.

"Aaaaahhh! I don't know what I'm going to do with you," Lindsay shrieked.

Lindsay must have tried on twenty or thirty outfits before she finally settled on wearing an emerald green sweater dress with a cowl neck line and pairing it with some beautiful jade earrings and a simple gold necklace. She'd decided to wear her brown, mid-level heel, leather pumps with the dress. She'd loved how Marty was tall like she was and she wanted to show off his height when they were together. When she'd gone out with Logan, she had purposely chosen shoes to make her look even taller so people would see her with Logan and think he was a little shrimp when he stood next to her. She thought about that and giggled.

Shane could tell Lindsay was still nervous about her date by the time the evening rolled around and offered to drive her to Pete's Tavern since Lindsay was meeting Marty there for her date and also, that way, Lindsay could have the option of having Marty bring back to Pete's after their date or, if she felt like she could trust him, back to their apartment.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Gold Dust Twins," Lenny chuckled as he saw them walking through the door.

"Uh, please, Lenny…don't call us the Gold Dust Twins just because we're two blondes, that is soooo corny!" Shane replied.

"Well, it's better than when he calls us Mutt and Jeff," Lindsay noted, recalling that's how Lenny had referred to them as to Ralph Moore, from the Yale function.

"Who told you girls I called you Mutt and Jeff?" Lenny asked.

"Your friend Ralph Moore from the Yale party," Shane replied. "We were _so_ flattered when we heard you'd given us that complimentary nickname," she added, pretending to be mad at Lenny.

"I'm sorry girls, I didn't mean to put you two in a bad light or anything…it's just that I needed something to call you to help Ralph pick you out of the crowd, I hope you weren't mad about that or anything," Lenny said apologetically.

"Oh, come on, Lenny," Shane replied, laughing and throwing a piece of popcorn at Lenny, "I was only kidding around, nothing you ever do makes us mad, handsome."

"Flattery'll get you everywhere, doll," he replied, relieved that Shane and Lindsay were just playing with him and weren't really mad. He poured two beers from the tap and slid them down to them.

"Oh, what are you two doing here?" Tiffany groaned when she spied Lindsay and Shane at the bar.

"Uh, Tiff, we're not co-workers tonight, we're customers – big difference, watch your mouth please," Lindsay reminded her.

"_Whatever_," she replied sarcastically. "At least I don't have to wait on you two, that's something to be thankful for," she commented as she brushed past them.

"She is unfrickinbelievable," Shane laughed.

"Yeah, I think she's actually proud of her bitchiness," Lindsay remarked, laughing about it softly at first and then uncontrollably.

"Well, hello there," Marty greeted, making an early appearance at the bar because he'd been hoping to get a drink down before he started his date with Lindsay. Shane had it pegged right that he'd be pretty nervous about their date tonight, but coming across Lindsay in the midst of a laughing fit, put him right at ease, he'd loved how such a gorgeous woman could also be so incredibly down to earth.

"Marty!" Lindsay greeted enthusiastically, she was a little embarrassed that he came across her when she was laughing so loudly, but she was also very happy to see him. She took a second to drink in his looks. She could tell he'd taken his time to get ready for the date, he looked fantastic. His hair looked freshly cut and styled and he was wearing Tommy Hilfiger black denim jeans, and a Kenneth Cole black leather jacket over a cream-colored, merino wool sweater and he'd splashed on some very expensive smelling cologne. She could not believe Rory Gilmore would have chosen Logan over this hot hunk on purpose.

"Lenny, just don't stand there gawking, you already knew Marty was coming back here tonight to take Lindsay out. Get him a scotch on the rocks, ASAP, please," Shane demanded and then turned to Marty and gave him a quick wink to let him know she knew he was nervous, but that she was taking care of him.

"Of course I remembered Marty was coming here," Lenny grumbled, trying to cover up for the fact that he actually had forgotten that Marty was meeting Lindsay at the bar for a date. "I'll get that Scotch for you right away, Marty," he said as he started to twist the top off a bottle of _Dewar's_ for the drink.

After Marty finished his Scotch and Lindsay finished her Sea Breeze cocktail, they got up to leave for dinner. Shane walked out with them to the parking lot and left in the truck. She and Lindsay had already worked it out that Lindsay would probably have Marty bring her home as long as there wasn't any bumps in the evening, but in case there was, she'd either text or call Shane on her cell phone to have her come back to Pete's to pick her up.

The _Old Tymes Restaurant _was just a short drive from Pete's. Marty parked his silver, 2000 Saturn near the front door and walked around to the passenger's side to open the door for Lindsay. Lindsay beamed as he took her hand and helped her out of the car. She and Marty had a mutually deep affection for one another and it looked like their date was only going to get better and better.

Marty took a look around at the restaurant after they were seated and liked what he saw. He liked the homey atmosphere and suspected the food was probably pretty good here. A waitress named Betty came over to their table and brought them menus and took their beverage orders. Marty was pleasantly surprised as he perused the menu and surveyed the prices that looked like they belonged on a menu from the '90s. They had things like Prime Rib for $9.99 and wine by the glass for $4.50. He decided on the Prime Rib and Lindsay selected the Country Chef salad and Marty ordered a couple of glasses of Chardonnay for them.

After dinner, Marty insisted Lindsay have dessert since she'd only eaten a salad for dinner so she selected the Strawberry Shortcake on a Biscuit dessert and Marty ordered the Apple Pie a la Mode. As they were leaving, Marty made a mental note to himself that if he and Lindsay were still together a year from now, he was bringing her back her to celebrate the anniversary of their first date and every year thereafter, as long as they stayed together.

He hated to think about the evening coming to end and lied and told Lindsay he was craving a cup of good strong coffee as they were walking out to the parking lot and wanted to know if there was a _Starbucks_ in town.

"Uh, we're not that progressive here, Marty, but there's a _Tim Hortons_ over on Boswell Avenue we can go to. It isn't exactly the fanciest place in town, but they're open late and they do serve pretty decent coffee," Lindsay suggested. She was glad he wasn't ready to call it a night just yet, she wanted it to go on a little while longer, too.

When they arrived at _Tim Hortons_, Marty ordered two cappuccinos for Lindsay and himself and they sat and drank coffee and talked for two more hours. They discussed everything from childhood memories, favorite movies and their future jobs. Lindsay spoke about going on to U Conn to get her degree and masters in Elementary Education and Marty admired her choice in choosing a vocation that would enable her to help people. He talked about his graduate work at Yale and how he intended to pursue executive work in a nonprofit organization when he completed his education. Lindsay in turn admired his desire to pursue a profession that helped people and assumed they had similar things in life that motivated them.

Finally, just before midnight, Lindsay announced that she needed to cut their date short because she had an early class in the morning and asked that he drop her off at her apartment, rather than going back to Pete's because she didn't want Shane picking her up late at night. She actually knew Shane wouldn't have minded picking her up at Pete's, but she wanted Marty to see where they live, just in case he ever had the urge to stop by and surprise her with a visit.

Minutes later, Marty pulled up to the front of Shane and Lindsay's building in the _Terraces_ apartment complex.

"Wow, this is nice," Marty said admiringly, noting their building overlooked the waterfront of Chelsea Harbor.

"Thank you, we think so," Lindsay said, accepting his compliment and appreciating his classiness to have something nice to say about where she lived. She knew a twit like Logan, if she'd ever been dumb enough to have him over, would have just been dismissive and not said a word.

"I'm sorry I can't invite you up tonight, it's just that it's so late and Shane might be sleeping or running around in her pj's or something. I'd…" she paused, wondering if Marty would think she'd was desperate if she invited him over to dinner too soon, but then she decided she would anyway, after all, what better way to test his character than to invite him and then gauge his reaction or see if he came over and tried to get too fresh too soon…"would you like to come over tomorrow night for dinner? I know it's short notice, but I have a really messed up work schedule. If I don't invite you over for tomorrow night, I won't be able to ask you over until next Tuesday. I have Saturdays off, but Shane and I always go to Stars Hollow that day, so my only other nights I'm free are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so…"

"Lindsay, Lindsay…no need to explain anything…I'm glad you just asked me to come over tomorrow, I love being with you and I'd hate to have to be away from you for a whole week. Can I bring you anything when I come to dinner tomorrow?"

Lindsay started to open her car door before she answered, "Just yourself, handsome," she answered huskily and planted a soft kiss on his lips before departing from the car.

Marty was on fire after Lindsay kissed and could barely think straight, but pulled himself together long enough to remember that Lindsay hadn't mentioned what time to come over or the number to her apartment, so he rolled down the window as fast as he could to find out.

"What time, Lindsay?"

"Seven o'clock, apartment 3A," she yelled back, still reeling from their kiss, too.

Marty sat and waited until he saw Lindsay go safely in her apartment before he pulled away and got started on his drive back to his dorm at Yale.

"Miss Lister, you have broken your curfew and I'm grounding you for two weeks," Shane teased the minute Lindsay came through the door.

"Ah…if I didn't have class in the morning I could have stayed out all night with Marty," Lindsay announced dreamily as she plopped down on the sofa, feeling like she was floating above the earth.

"Really, Linds, it was that great?" Shane asked with a cascade of relief washing over her. She knew that it had been very difficult for Lindsay to go out on her first date since her divorce, mostly, she believed because it was like admitting that her marriage was irretrievably finished once she took that final step and dated another man, but thankfully the experience had been a very positive one for Lindsay.

"Mmm...hmm…yes it was, Shane," Lindsay answered and then fell asleep immediately, to Shane's dismay, she'd been waiting for Lindsay to come home with bated breath, hoping to hear all the juicy details about her date.

After classes the next day, Shane and Lindsay did their usual lunch thing at the campus dining room and then went shopping for groceries for dinner. Lindsay decided not to get too crazy with the menu, she'd actually learned how to make quite a few specialties when she was married to Dean, but decided she'd keep it simple by making spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and a salad.

"Linds, do you want me to clear out tonight before Marty comes to the apartment?" Shane asked.

"No way, Shane, I need you there to help me size this guy up and if you're there he won't get the wrong idea about me asking him over," Lindsay responded.

"You never know, Linds… if he sees me there when he comes over tonight, he might be thinking you asked him over to play stud for a kinky _ménage a trois_," Shane laughed, never able to take anything serious for too long.

"Oh, please, Shane, get your mind out of the gutter and go find us some good red wine for tonight," Lindsay said laughing at Shane's twisted, crazy sense of humor.

Wednesday's dinner with Marty went well and then the girls were back at work on Thursday night and fell back into their usual routine and by the time Friday night rolled around, the girls were really looking forward to getting work over with and spending their day off in Stars Hollow. Around eleven o'clock that night, Lenny turned the bar's TV to the local news and at first the girls didn't even notice, a friend of theirs from school, named Amber, had wandered into the bar and they were busy talking to her when Lindsay happened to catch a glimpse of Logan on the screen.

"Shane, you know who's back in the news. Look!" she said, pointing to the screen.

"…_A grand jury today indicted Logan Huntzberger, a Yale student who was previously arrested for the hit and run accident that severely injured Dean Forester in Stars Hollow on November 28th. The trial is expected to commence on December 21__st__. We will keep you updated as further events develop in this case…"_

"Wow, Linds; restroom now," Shane pointed, "excuse us please, Amber."

When they got into the restroom, they discussed the news item further.

"Shane, I don't know why they're indicting Logan, I told them what I knew about his whereabouts, I gave them a copy of the evidence, how could they accuse him of doing something he didn't do?" Lindsay asked helplessly, feeling sorry for Logan.

"I don't know, Linds, but now that I recall...wasn't his friend Finn at the Yale party?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So? Come on, Sherlock, don't you remember seeing that nasty bruise on his face? Don't you find that the slightest bit suspicious?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I guess so, but what I'm wondering is how I'm going to help Logan now that it looks like the police completely disregarded my statement," Lindsay said, splashing water on her face to refresh herself before the girls walked back out to the bar.

"Lindsay Lister?" a male voice asked.

"Yes?" Lindsay responded as she turned to see who'd called her name.

"You're being served as a witness for the defense in the trial of _The State of Connecticut vs. Logan Huntzberger_," the heavy set man, in his fifties, said as he handed her a subpoena and disappeared quickly, having accomplished his mission.

"That answers your question about how you're gonna help Logan, Linds, but what a nightmare!" Shane exclaimed.

"Not when you consider the nightmare Logan's going through right now," Lindsay sighed, "it's okay, Shane, I can handle it."

"That's right! You'll do good on that witness stand, I just know you will hon," Shane declared proudly, hugging her friend to reassure her.

The next day the girls made their usual Saturday trip to Stars Hollow. They left early in the morning and decided to have brunch at Weston's Bakery instead of going to the diner, because they wanted to discuss Dean away from Luke and Lane's prying ears.

"So I called Dean's mom and they say he'll be getting out of the hospital in a few days," Lindsay said as she took a bite out of her pecan, mandarin orange flavored scone.

"Really? That's great," Shane responded sincerely.

"Shane, if you didn't know me, wouldn't you want to go out with Dean if he asked you to and don't lie when you answer 'cause I probably know you better now than anyone else in the world except for Allison," Lindsay said.

"Umm…come on, Linds, the thought of dating my best friend's ex-husband is just too bizarre to contemplate, plus when you date a guy, eventually you and him and your friends end up hanging out. Do you really want to hang out with Dean after what he put you through?"

"Linds, if you'd asked me that question a year ago, I would have told you that I had no desire whatsoever to lay eyes on Dean again, but I realize now that my parents really pushed Dean into a marriage he wasn't ready for because he was way too young and he was in love with another woman and their reason for pushing him was really all about pushing me so they could control my life and the decision as to who I would marry. If they hadn't interfered, nature would have taken its proper course and either we would have married later on and lived happily ever after or he and Rory would have gotten back together and they would have married. Either way, I know there's no way Dean and I can reconcile now, but I feel bad that my parents pushed him and I want to see both of you happy, plus…I know Dean can't be a monk for the rest of his life and if some other girl's gotta get him, I'd rather it be my best friend and not some bimbo off the street."

"You're crazy, Linds!" Shane said smiling as she took a sip of her French vanilla flavored coffee. She actually felt relieved that Lindsay was giving her blessing for her to be with Dean. She'd been falling for Dean for a while now, but she'd tried to deny her feelings out of respect for Lindsay and their friendship.

After they finished their brunch, Lindsay and Shane drove back to Allison's house and Lindsay pretended she was going to try and visit with her own mother for a little while, but instead she drove over to the hospital to see Dean. She stopped at the hospital gift shop and picked up a copy of the swim suit issue of _Sports Illustrated_ and a box of chocolate covered peanuts, paid for them and went up to Dean's room.

"Hi Dean!" she greeted, kissing him lightly on the forehead. She noted his family wasn't in the room and was relieved because she needed to talk to him privately. "Oh, here, these are for you," she said, as she put the candy and the magazine on the nightstand next to his bed.

"Hey, Lindsay," Dean said, "this is a nice surprise," he said, smiling at her brightly.

"I'm here to talk to you about Shane," Lindsay replied as she took a seat next to his bed.

"What about Shane?" Dean asked inquisitively, wondering intently what Lindsay had to say about the subject. He'd actually started growing quite fond of Shane since she'd been visiting him at the hospital, but he, like Shane, had thought there's wasn't much he could do about it given his history with Lindsay and the close friendship she shared with Shane.

**To be continued... **


	9. Chapter 9

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Nine

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean, Logan, Marty and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

"Dean, I am sure if you ask Shane out, she would be a happy girl. It's all good with me, but I want you to understand a few things before you do…" Lindsay paused.

Dean looked at her with a puzzled expression "You mean you're going to put conditions on our dating?"

"Yes I am, but just one…If I find out you cheated on her, I will ruin your world."

"You mean I can't break up with her?"

"No, I did not say that. You can break up with her all you want, but don't let me find out if she becomes your girlfriend, you start to stray, especially if Rory Gilmore comes sniffing around."

"Yeah, like I'm gonna let myself get sucked in so I can get burned for a third time."

"I'm just telling you be careful, Dean, and there is a lot more I need to tell you later, when I have it all figured out."

"Lindsay, I thought everything was all good now, especially since you've decided it's okay for me and Shane to get together."

Lindsay sighed, "It is good, just not all good. I am going to try to explain something to you. You see, Dean, and this is hard for me to tell you, part of me wants to climb onto your hospital bed and put my arms around you and comfort you because I know you're in a lot of pain right now, but there's another part of me that wants to claw your eyes out for all the pain that you caused _me_.

Dean was taken aback by the intensity of her voice, "Lindsay how about you do neither."

Lindsay snapped back from the dark place her mind was going to, "Very good answer Dean."

"Look, Dean, take care, I'd appreciate it if this conversation stays between us," Lindsay said as she bent down and kissed his cheek, then turned and walked out of the room.

Dean watched Lindsay walk out of the room. He knew at that instant if he could take it all back he would. He realized he was like Rory, he did not think of the consequences of his actions to other people. He knew that his parents, who did not really come out and say anything, were very disappointed in him and that Lindsay's parents must hate him. Lindsay hated him, but was working on being a friend to him. Most likely on account of Shane, he realized perceptively.

Lindsay walked through the drizzle to her truck. She wondered when it was going to stop raining and snowing. She got in and started the truck up, but instead of driving out of the parking lot, she leaned back and closed her eyes. Lindsay liked Marty a lot, but she had to watch what she was doing. She had to admit to herself that she was starved for affection and she did not want to do anything cheap or impulsive that might scare him and make him run him off or dump her because he thought she was too cheap. She knew a guy like Marty wasn't going to waste his time on a short-term relationship and that she'd better check herself so he would have no idea of how close he was to having a love starved woman tearing his clothes off.

Meanwhile, Shane decided to kill some time so she went to Luke's for some coffee and Danish. She had to admit to herself he did have the best coffee in town. Luke seemed distracted by something and kept giving her strange looks. It was like he almost wished her out of the place. Luke walked over and asked her if she wanted to pay her tab. Shane declined and ordered another cup of coffee. _I wonder what is going on?_ she thought to herself. Shane drifted off in to thoughts about Dean. She hoped he would ask her out when he was released from the hospital. Lindsay made it a point to tell her that dating him would be alright, still she felt a tad strange. She knew deep down that Dean was a good guy and was beating himself up for what he did to Lindsay.

Shane heard a familiar voice, and snapped back to reality. Standing behind the counter was Jess Mariano. No wonder Luke was edgy. Shane decided not to say anything. She would let Jess make the first move.

Jess's eyes rested on her, "What are you doing here?"

"Jess, I am having a cup of coffee, is there a problem with that?"

"No, you just surprised me; I did not expect you to still be around."

Shane noticed the wedding ring on Jess's hand, "So who is the unlucky girl?"

Jess's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean unlucky girl?"

"Yeah, Jess the one you married."

"How do you know I am married?"

"The ring," She almost said stupid, but decided she did not need a war.

Jess laughed, "Jealous?"

"I hate to spoil your hallucinations about yourself, but no, Jess, I'm not jealous. I haven't thought about you in years." Next, she decided to play dumb and ask him about Rory, "So what happened with Gilmore?"

"I guess I sort of got dumped. She took up with some rich dickhead."

"Welcome to the adult world. We make our choices and we have to live with them."

A short, pretty girl with long blonde hair, and who was obviously pregnant, joined Jess behind the counter.

"So who are you talking to, Jess?"

Shane decided to say something before Jess said something stupid. She stuck out her hand, "I'm Shane, Jess and I dated briefly years ago."

The blonde girl was slightly taken aback, then grasped Shane's hand,"I am Paris Geller, oops I mean Paris Mariano", Paris laughed, forgive me I am still having a hard time with the name change."

"Glad to meet you, Paris."

"Likewise, Shane."

Paris turned to Jess, "Honey, I am going to take the car and get a few things. Be back in an hour or so."

Jess kissed her goodbye and watched her walk out of the store. He then turned to Shane. "Shane, are you going to make any trouble for me?"

"Why should I Jess? Where did you meet her?"

"She is actually a friend of Rory Gilmore."

"Come on, Jess, have a seat and tell me how you two hooked up."

Jess took the stool next to Shane. "Okay, Shane, this is what happened. Paris was a friend of Rory's. I had run into her several times. I actually did not like her. Then at one of this town's crazy functions we clicked. I did not see her for awhile after that. About eight months ago she showed up at my store in Philadelphia. So I took her out to dinner. I found that she understood me like no one else. In other words, she could see right through my bullshit. She has been with me from that day on. When she got pregnant, we got married."

"Damn, Jess, you are a stand up guy, I would have figured you to run."

Jess laughed, "Paris would have hunted me down, besides I don't want to be like my father."

"So, Shane, are you seeing anyone?"

Shane took a sip of her coffee, "Sort of."

"Well, Shane, don't keep me in suspense, who is it?"

"Dean Forester."

Jess about choked, "What in the hell do you see in that ass?"

Shane stood up. "Jess, I almost thought you were going to be nice. I like Dean, so what do you care?"

Jess mumbled, "I don't care."

"Good, behave, act normal, you may even get a few friends."

Shane called Luke over. "Luke, Jess said he would pick up my tab."

Jess bolted upright. "I did not!"

"Jess, you owe me, thanks. See you later," Shane replied and walked out of the diner.

On the walk to The Log Cabin Pub, Shane wondered if Rory knew her friend married Jess. She knew about Paris and had seen her around town on occasion, but had never spoken to her, and had no idea what she was like. Paris seemed friendly.

Shane arrived at the Log Cabin Pub to wait on Lindsay. Her friend Rose was working as she did every Saturday. "Hey, Rose, I'll take a Miller Lite." Rose brought the beer over to her. "So where is your buddy?"

"Not quite sure, but I am supposed to meet her here."

Rose was wiping down the bar in front of Shane. "You know, Al and Craig have been here a few times and they were asking about you two. They were quite impressed you guys picked up their tab."

"What did you tell them?"

"Nothing much, just that you two did not live here in Stars Hollow. They're nice guys, Shane, if I wasn't married I would go out with either one of them."

Shane laughed, "I did like them, but Lindsay definitely has a boyfriend and I think I am about to get one and my situation is a touchy matter."

The jukebox was playing _Unchained Melody_, by the Righteous Brothers and Rose turned the volume up a couple of notches. "I wonder which one of those guys over there got shit canned by his girlfriend; I'll bet you the next song will be _You Lost That Loving Feeling_, by the Brothers."

Rose was correct. "If I can figure out who it is, I usually buy them a shot. So Shane, who is the lucky guy you think is going to be your boyfriend?"

Shane sat silently for a moment, took a deep breath and then uttered, "Dean Forester."

Rose's mouth dropped, "Are you crazy? That is your friend's _ex_!"

Shane shrugged, "She told me to go for it. Lindsay said she had no problem with it."

Just then, someone behind her put his hands over her eyes and said "Guess who?"

Shane went, "Tom? Dick? Harry? I give up."

The hands were removed from her eyes and there stood Al with Craig standing behind him.

Shane laughed, "For some reason I thought it was you two. Anyway, how are you guys?"

"Good, where is your buddy? And, no, we are not going to play pool with you two."

"Lindsay should be along shortly."

"Shane, do you want to join us at a table?"

"Maybe later guys, right now I need to talk to Rose."

"Shane, you ought to date one of those guys, I think it would be less complicated. I am not saying that Dean is a bad guy or anything. You know the people in this town have been pretty hard on him for his affair."

Shane's eyes narrowed and her voice went up, "I can understand that, but tell me how Rory Gilmore gets off with nothing bad being said about her. Rose, she was just as naked as he was doing the same thing."

"Shane, for some reason the older people like her, even though I don't think many in her peer group really care for her. Somehow she is just a little princess, I can't figure it out."

Shane noticed someone slipping into the stool next to her. She turned and there was Lindsay.

"Rose!" Lindsay called, "How 'bout a Labatt's Blue and a shot of peach schnapps please?"

"You on a mission or something, Lindsay?" Shane asked.

"My dear friend, two things, one - here are the keys you're driving home. Two - I fibbed to you, I went to see Dean."

"Oh, Lindsay, I don't care if you see Dean."

Lindsay was fidgeting with her napkin, "I just had to explain a few more things to him. I need to do this the right way. I have to do it in a way that...I can't explain it Shane."

"Then don't, you don't owe me any explanations. You're shaking, Lindsay. Is everything all right?"

"I'll be okay in a minute. I just have so many things on my mind, Marty, Dean, the trial, mid terms. Shane I like Marty so much I am terrified of losing him. I am afraid of the trial, I just know that somehow I will end up being the bad guy because I have to testify that I was dating Logan."

"Lindsay, I will do everything in my power to stop that crap. By the way, I ran into Jess today, and guess what he is married."

"You're kidding, who did he marry?"

Shane laughed "You're not going to believe it, Paris Geller."

"I know that name, isn't she a friend of Rory's?"

"I know they went to school together, I guess they had some sort of relationship. Who knows, Lindsay?"

"So how was your encounter with Jess?"

"Not bad, it seems that marriage has mellowed him a bit, but you know Lindsay, I had nowhere near the emotional involvement in Jess, like you had in Dean. Jess was just a passing thing. I just got pissed at how Rory went about getting him. Like I did not exist. I remember her coming in to the beauty shop I worked at and talking down to me and being a complete bitch to me. Let's go have a drink with Al and Craig and head for the house."

**6AM 21 December Norwich**

Shane was watching Lindsay flit around the house. "Lindsay, you're like a ping pong ball, calm down, girl!"

"Shane, I have nothing to wear for this, and what do you wear for a trial?"

"Take a seat, and I will find something for you."

Lindsay takes a seat at the kitchen table and buries her head in her arms. "Shane, this sucks. I now have to come to the defense of that sleazebag. I just know I am going to get hammered. My parents will never take me back now."

"Okay, Lindsay this is what we have for you. Your gray skirt that is knee length. A yellow button up blouse, low heels, and your white pull over sweater. You will look presentable and not too sexy and then wear your hair up."

"Lindsay, you're going to be fine. Just tell them what happened. Come on, we need to leave here by seven."

Lindsay asked Shane to drive to Stars Hollow, for some reason she felt like the accused.

Shane kept watching Lindsay fidgeting out of the corner of her eye and she started to whistle Handel's funeral march.

Lindsay looked at Shane with a shocked expression on her face and then realized how absurd the whole situation was. Lindsay laughed, "Okay Shane, you made your point. I get up testify and then we get drunk."

They stopped by Shane's house and grabbed a cup of coffee. Allison took one look at Lindsay and added a daub of brandy to her coffee. "'It will calm you down, dear."

For a change it was sunny. Shane pulled into the parking lot. "Well, there seems to be quite a crowd for our trial."

"Shane, look over there. It seems like we even have TV coverage. Can't I just find a hole and crawl in it?"

"Look, Lindsay, the sun is out for a change, be happy, this will be over in a few hours and then all you have to worry about is Marty"

Lindsay looked glum, "Marty insisted on coming, what happens if I make an idiot out of myself?"

"Lindsay, relax you can do no wrong when it comes to Marty, he is smitten."

They walked through the main door and on the back wall was a mural depicting lady justice blindfolded holding the balancing scales. Shane wondered why all courts had such a preponderance of dark wood all over the place. It really made it a gloomy place to be. She shuddered, a person could walk in here free and never walk free again.

Lindsay checked in with the clerk of the court and was instructed to take a seat outside the courtroom until she was called. Shane entered the courtroom and found a seat fairly close to the proceedings. She noticed that Lorelai and Rory Gilmore were in attendance, also Miss Patty, Babette, Taylor, Dean's parents and a bunch of people about her age, which she figured to be friends of Logan. Logan walked in with his lawyer, who was wearing at least a $3,000 suit. The prosecutor entered with his team and Shane noticed his suit was one of those two for the price of $100 that was advertised on local cable TV stations after midnight. _Looks like the Huntzburger clan is not sparing any expense_, she surmised perceptively.

The judge entered the courtroom and all were asked to stand. The court was called to order and the judge gave his lecture about outbursts and talking in the courtroom.

The bailiff droned,"The state of Connecticut versus Logan Huntzburger. The charges are hit and run, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, and intent to injure."

The prosecutor, Harold Mason, called Logan to the stand and Logan was sworn in.

"Mr. Huntzburger, do you own a 2008 red Jaguar?

Logan looking deadpanned answered flatly "Yes, I do."

"Mr. Huntzburger, did you drive the Jaguar on 28 Nov of this year?"

"Yes I did," he answered flatly.

"Mr. Huntzburger, do you know the passenger of the other vehicle, Dean Forrester?"

Logan, sat up straight, he did not expect that question. "Yes, I know him."

"Is it true, Mr. Huntzburger, that you and Mr. Forester were rivals over the affections of a one Rory Gilmore?"

"Sir, that was over a long time ago."

"But still you harbored resentment against him. Maybe they were talking again and you felt threatened."

"Me, threatened by _Dean Forrester_? You have to be kidding."

"Mr. Huntzburger, I do not kid. Your witness."

Logan's attorney, Phillip Myers Esq, figured he would make short work of this back woods prosecutor.

"Okay, Logan, were you driving the red Jaguar on 28 Nov of this year?"

"Yes, I did."

"Logan, were you driving your red Jaguar at 1:13pm of 28 Nov of this year?"

"No sir, I wasn't."

"Could you please tell the court why you were not driving you car?"

"I swapped cars with a friend of mine."

"Why did you swap cars, Logan?"

"Sir, I have an easily recognizable car, I wanted to be more or less incognito for the day," Logan looked at Rory who was looking back at him with a frown.

"Logan, why did you want to be incognito for the day?"

Logan seemed to shrink in the witness chair, "I had a date, and did not want to be found out by my girlfriend." Rory turned scarlet and Lorelai turned and held her hand.

"That will be all, Mr. Huntzburger."

"Your honor, I have one witness I would like to call to the stand that was not scheduled. I think her testimony is vital to the case."

"Mr. Mason, Mr. Myers, approach the bench. Mr. Mason, who is your unscheduled witness?"

"Rory Gilmore, girlfriend of the accused."

"Look Mr. Mason, what purpose would she serve?" Logan's attorney asked.

"I just need her to verify a point I had bought up."

"Okay Mr. Mason, what point is that?"

"All I want to do is ask her is if she still talks to Dean Forester."

"They live in a small town, Mr. Mason, of course they most likely talk."

The judge spoke up, "I will allow it."

After a short conversation with the bailiff, Rory was summoned to the stand by the judge.

Rory turned white, she was shocked. What did she know about this? All she knew was that her boyfriend had cheated on her, but maybe he had an explanation.

Rory walked up to the witness stand and was sworn in.

"Miss Gilmore," Prosecutor Mason droned, "do you still talk to Dean Forester?"

"Yes, but..."

"That is all, Miss Gilmore."

It was now attorney Myers turn. "Miss Gilmore, what do you and Mr. Forester talk about?"

"We don't really get along. Mostly 'hi,' 'good bye,' or on occasional 'how are you?'."

"Thank you, Miss Gilmore, that will be all."

Rory walked past Logan, looked at him and silently mouthed "Why?"

Harold Mason turned to the Judge and stated "The prosecution rests."

The judge nodded toward attorney Myers, "Your witnesses?"

The bailiff called Lindsay Lister.

Lindsay walked down the center aisle. Eyes straight to the witness chair. She was sworn in and took a seat.

"Miss Lister, how do you know the defendant?"

Lindsay looked at Rory, "I dated him."

Rory half stood up and sat again, and glared at Lindsay.

"Miss Lister, on 28 Nov of this year could you tell us what you did?"

"Logan met me at the campus coffee ship at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich. We had plans to see a show and then get something to eat." Lindsay glanced at Rory and saw she was in some sort of shock. A part of her felt great, like _I got you bitch_. Another part of her felt almost sorry for her. Lindsay briefly wondered if Rory even really loved Logan.

"What time did you meet at the coffee shop?"

"About one o'clock, I paid for the two coffees and kept the receipt."

"Miss Lister, what sort of car was Mr. Huntzburger driving?"

"He was driving a black Porsche. I am not sure about the year."

"Miss Lister, where did you go on this date?"

"We went to a show in Groton, then we went to New London and had a bite to eat at Dev's on Bank street. After that we drove to the Old Lyme tavern in Niantic and had a beer. Logan then drove me back to Norwich taking 95 to 395 dropping me off at my place of employment."

That is all, Miss Lister, your witness Mr. Mason."

"Miss Lister, why did you keep your receipt?"

My ex-husband was a contractor, he got me into the habit of keeping all receipts."

Miss Lister, who is your ex-husband?"

Lindsay did not expect this, "Dean Forester."

A gasp went through the court room.

"So, Miss Lister, the man that was almost killed was your ex-husband, isn't that a coincidence?"

Lindsay stuttered, "I guess, I did not know about the accident till I got home that night."

"So, Miss Lister, you were on a date with the owner of the car that almost killed your ex- husband?"

"I guess, but I did not know anything about Dean's accident."

"Miss Lister, how involved was your relationship with Logan Huntzburger?"

"I went out with him three times." When Lindsay said that, she looked at Rory who now was reduced to tears.

"Did your relationship end, Miss Lister, because you got your revenge on your ex husband and Logan was no longer needed?"

"NO he crudely propositioned me. I threw wine in his face and walked out." She looked at Rory who had her face buried in her hands.

"Miss Lister, how much did you pay Mr. Huntzburger to have Mr. Forester run off the road?"

The whole court went into a shocked silence.

"Mr. Mason, I have about $325 in the bank and maybe $35 in my wallet. I don't think I could afford to pay Logan anything."

Harold Mason realized his mistake. He thought he was on to a big conspiracy The Huntzburgers were worth billions and Lindsay maybe $500 dollars. He felt really stupid. He was thinking rapidly, maybe he could try the sex angle.

The judge called a recess and asked both attorneys to join him in his chambers.

The two attorneys entered the judge's chambers.

"You two are amazing. This should have been settled before it reached court. Mr. Mason, I think you're guilty of trying to take down a rich powerful person for personal gain, in other words enhance your reputation. Mr. Myers, you're arrogant. This case is so simple the two of you should have approached me with the simple solution. Mr. Mason, your comment about Miss Lister paying Mr. Huntzburger will go down in history as one of the dumbest statements ever made in the state of Connecticut. Also, I doubt anyone is going to use a red Jaguar to do a crime."

"There are only really a couple of questions left, but this is fact. Mr. Huntzburger was with Miss Lister the day and time of the accident."

"We established that they were in a black Porsche. We established the time line. We established why he swapped cars. He was fooling around with Miss Lister and also dating Miss Gilmore."

"Now the obvious, who did he swap cars with?"

"Your honor we questioned the owner of the black Porsche, a Mr. Finn Sheen, and he denied swapping cars with the defendant."

"So here is what is going to happen, gentlemen. I am going to ask Miss Lister a few questions. Then I am going to dismiss the charges against Mr. Huntzburger."

"Mr. Mason, I suggest you arrest Mr. Sheen, the owner of the black Porsche and charge him with something."

They re-entered the courtroom. Once all was settled, the judge called for Miss Lister to return to the witness stand.

"Miss Lister. As you can, this is not a trial by jury, so I am the one who is going to make the decision. There seems to be a few angles here that I need to know the answer to."

"Miss Lister, did you know Mr. Huntzburger had a girlfriend?"

Lindsay looked at her feet, then looked at Rory, "Yes I did."

"That is not a crime."

Rory was looking at Lindsay with hate.

"What is the status of the relationship now?"

"Your honor, there is no relationship."

"What happened?"

"He made a crude pass at me, so I ended it."

"Miss Lister, after I dismiss the court I would like you to remain behind for a moment".

"Yes, your honor."

The bailiff asked all to rise.

In the case of the state of Connecticut versus Logan Huntzburger. Case dismissed.

All Logan's friends were around him shaking his hand and slapping his back. He shook hands with his attorney and announced that he was going to have a post trial get together at the Log Cabin Pub. Lindsay watched Rory leave with her mother.

"Miss Lister," hearing her name snapped her back to reality.

"Yes, your honor?"

"I have a question, why did you go out with Mr. Huntburger? You don't seem like the type to go after another woman's boyfriend."

"Your honor, it was for revenge, but I could not do it. In fact, if this trial did not come up. It never would have gotten out."

"His girlfriend stole my husband; I wanted her to feel like I did. I wanted her to doubt herself. She can have him; he is too sleazy for me."

"I think I understand, Miss Lister, you may go now, good luck."

Shane was waiting for Lindsay when she left the court building. She walked up to the taller girl and gave her a hug. "You did great in there, I am proud of you. That prosecutor was a piece of work. For a minute I thought you were going to be charged with some sort of murder for hire scheme."

"Yeah" she laughed, "till he had me paying Logan, what an idiot. Let's go to the Log Cabin and see what this big to-do is going to be about."

They walked in unnoticed and grabbed two stools at the corner of the bar. Rose came over. "You two part of that crowd?"

"No Rose," Shane said.

"Too bad, that snotty little blonde guy in the Armani suit is picking up the tab for all of them."

"Snotty little blonde guy is right. We'll pay for own, thanks."

Over at Doose's market, the gossip was how that horrible Lindsay tried to steal Rory's wonderful boyfriend. The worst gossipers in the store were the usual suspects, including Miss Patti, Babette, Taylor, and a few others.

Dean was hobbling in the back of the store on crutches with his mother, who was constantly telling him he should not be doing this. Dean was protesting he was sick and tired of being in that bed, he was in the hospital for almost a month. They stopped when they heard the voices of the gossip mongers.

"Mom, I am so tired of these people tearing Lindsay down. They act like lions waiting to pounce on the weakest animal."

"Dean, no," his mother protested.

As Dean walked up to the group, Miss Patty announced to him, "Oh hello, Dean, they acquitted Logan, and it came out that your ex-wife was dating Rory's boyfriend. Boy did she lose her morals when she started hanging out with Shane."

Dean stared at the group for a moment before he let them have it, "Lindsay lost her morals because she dated Rory's boyfriend? What about Rory's morals when she slept with Lindsay husband, which happens to be me? One time can be written off as a terrible mistake, but let me tell you, she had no problem shucking her clothes every chance we got. If you're going to call someone with no morals, say it about me. Say it about Rory. Don't you _ever_ let me hear you speak about Lindsay like that again. Lindsay was a sweet innocent girl who got screwed over by me and Rory. She did not deserve that. She was my wife, I know her. She dated Logan for a reason. I don't know why. So don't you dare ever talk bad about her. Talk bad about me. Talk bad about Rory we are the ones who committed adultery. By the way Shane is my girlfriend, and you will keep your filthy mouths shut about her also. You all need to get a life!"

**Back at the Log Cabin Pub…**

Rory is avoiding Logan. She knows Logan wants to talk, but she is not in the mood. How could he do this to her? She loved him, she thought he loved her, was she not smart enough for him, was she lacking in bed? Why would he stray from her?

Rory spotted Shane and Lindsay at the back corner of the bar as far away from the celebration as they could get and walked over to them. "Lindsay, are you happy that you destroyed my relationship with Logan?"

"Yes and no Rory, were you happy you destroyed my relationship with Dean, and don't tell me he was your Dean, he was my husband. Rory, I actually did you a favor. I most likely saved you a lifetime of living with one of the biggest dirt bags I have ever known. You know I asked him if you were his girlfriend and his answer to me was no, she means nothing to me, I just go to school with her. You know, Rory, I am going to tell you what you are feeling. You are feeling that somehow it is your fault, you are feeling that you're not smart enough for him, you are wondering if you are inadequate in bed. You are doubting yourself."

Rory looked at Lindsay, "How do you know that?"

"Rory, your disconnect with the fallout your actions have, actually scares me. What do you think I felt like?"

"So, Lindsay, you did go out with him for revenge."

"Yes I did, but I could not go through with it, if this accident thing did not happen you would have never known."

Shane interjected, "Rory, you did the same thing to me on a lesser scale. You treated me like crap and had no remorse in taking Jess away from me. I was pissed at the way you did it, but he was no big loss to me. By the way I saw him the other day. He is married."

Rory stared at Lindsay and Shane, "I just don't know why you two want to hurt me."

Shane replied, "Actually, we don't."

Rory walked back to where the party was. Logan spotted her and walked over to her and put his arm around her. "Get off me, you creep. You have embarrassed me and I want nothing further to do with you. Your girlfriend Lindsay is at the bar, go put your arm around her."

Rory walked out of the bar and called Lorelai to come and get her. She knew it would be a long time before she would feel good about herself. As much as she told herself she was smart and good in bed, the doubts ate at her.

Logan spotted Lindsay at the end of the bar. Hell, she must like him he reasoned to himself, she did testify on his behalf. He strode over to Lindsay like a clueless lounge lizard, wearing his trademark tacky grin and said, "Hey, Lindsay, thanks for helping me out. What do you say we give it another try, baby?"

"Logan, get real, not happening. Besides, I have a boyfriend".

Almost as if on cue, Marty came around the bar. "Logan, if you so much as ever touch my girlfriend, I will kick your ass from here to New Haven. She told me why she went out with you, and trust me, it had nothing to do with your charm. In fact, you made her sick."

"Marty, you will regret this."

"Yeah, yeah, right. kiss my ass, Logan."

Shane beckoned Lindsay over, she was all smiles. "Dean is out of the hospital and is home."

"Shane, that is great," Lindsay paused a moment and said, "Shane, I need a big favor. I want to talk to him one more time before you go over. Do you mind? Marty will keep you company."

Shane was puzzled, "How come, Linds?"

"Do you trust me, Shane?"

Shane said "Yes" without hesitation, but then added "hurry, I want to see him."

Lindsay knocked on the Forester door and Mrs. Forester answered, "Well, this is a pleasant surprise, Lindsay. Dean is in his room. He told off the gossip bunch at Doose's today."

"Lindsay laughed, "They needed to be told off. Who were they gossiping about?"

"You, Lindsay."

"Oh, thanks for letting me know, I will thank him. Do you mind if I go up to his room, Mrs. Forester?"

"Certainly not, go ahead Lindsay."

Lindsay walked up the stairs and knocked on Dean's door.

"Come in."

Lindsay walked into his somewhat messy room. She spotted a photograph of Shane on his night table and smiled. "Dean, I need to tell you a few more things and then I think all the analyzing will be over."

Dean looked at her pensively, "Okay."

"Dean, I realize now you never loved me."

Dean winced.

"It is true, Dean. I was too young, too inexperienced to realize that I was the rebound girl. I should have realized the looks you two exchanged were nothing like the looks we exchanged, at least on your part. I know that my parents put a lot of pressure on you to marry me. If I thought or knew you loved me, I would have never forgiven you, but you never did Dean. I never would have figured this out, but I have a man who I am very sure loves me or is ready to fall in love with me. There is a difference. I can now tell the difference. Dean, I don't see any damage to your left cheek."

Dean nodded, "Yes, that cheek was spared."

Lindsay gave him an open handed slap across the cheek. Now we are even Dean, that was for being a dick to me. She took his hand off his cheek and kissed it. Dean, **now** we are good. Shane wants to see you. I'll have Marty drive her over, and leave my truck so she can stay as long as she wants or until you throw her out."

"Lindsay, call them over, but why don't you and you Marty stay for awhile? I'd like to get to know him."

Lindsay made the call and fifteen minutes later, Shane and Marty arrived. Marty was introduced to Dean.

Shane sat on the bed with Dean and Lindsay and Marty sat on the floor with their backs against the wall.

After about a half hour, Lindsay said, "I think the four of us need to start making plans for New Years Eve."

Shane smiled at Lindsay, "I am sure we can come up with something."

**To be continued...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Ten

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Lorelai, Dean, Logan, Marty and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

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***** Welcome back to the story everyone. Hope you enjoy this Christmas episode of "Blondes Have More Fun" ***  
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**Christmas Eve…**

Lindsay and Shane worked the night before Christmas and Lenny decided he was going to close the bar around 9:00 and throw a party for the staff before he sent them home.

While everyone cleaned the bar and restaurant up, Lenny set up a spread of a tray of lasagna and a three foot Italian hero, containers of potato and macaroni salad, Doritos, pickles, and potato chips and his wife, Sylvia, brought in some of her famous, homemade walnut fudge brownies, a plate of assorted cookies and a large vat of holiday mulled wine she'd made for this special occasion. It was Lenny and Sylvia's way of thanking the staff and they made sure that all the party food was ordered or brought in, so none of the kitchen staff would have to lift a finger to help out since it was their party, too.

After everyone loaded their plates with food and grabbed a punch cup full of mulled wine, Lenny made a toast to all his workers.

"Guys, Sylvia and I want to thank you all for the hard work you do for us all year and we want to acknowledge how much we depend on each and every one of you to make Pete's Tavern the success that it is. Cheers!" he announced as he lifted his own cup of mulled wine.

"Cheers!" everyone chorused and drank down the deliciously flavored, warm red wine.

The party went on for a couple of hours and before they left, Sylvia went into the back office and came out with little red felt stockings that had green envelopes sticking out of them and handed them out to all the workers.

Everyone began tearing open their envelopes, and to their delight, saw that there was a $200 Christmas bonus inside their envelopes from Lenny and his wife.

"Thanks, Lenny and Sylvia!" everyone said.

"Wow, that's mighty generous of you, handsome," Shane said tearfully as she embraced Lenny.

"Oh, yes, thank you, Lenny and Sylvia," Lindsay added, she wasn't sure what she was going to do with her money, yet, but she sure knew it was going to come in handy.

"Well, I wish we could have given you all more, but if this economy ever picks up again, I definitely will," Lenny replied, feeling good that he was able to give his workers at least something this year.

"Oh, believe us, we already appreciate your generosity way more than you know, Len. Here's a gift for you and your wife from me and Linds," Shane said as she handed him a blue gift bag covered with little white stars, since they were Jewish and celebrated Hanukkah.

Lenny reached into the bag and pulled out a Tuscan styled wine pitcher.

"Thank you, girls," he said, as he quickly hugged them both and then admired the unique design of the angular crystal pitcher.

"Oh yes, thank you, girls. That wine pitcher is just lovely," Sylvia said appreciatively.

Lindsay and Shane wished Lenny and Sylvia a happy Hanukkah and everyone else a Merry Christmas, then left and went on to Stars Hollow straight from the tavern.

"Wow, Linds, what are you gonna do with _your_ money?" Shane asked excitedly as they climbed into the truck.

"I don't know, Shane, I thought I'd do something practical with it and then I just realized, Christmas is tomorrow and my parents aren't speaking to me and since they aren't speaking to me, that also means they didn't get me any presents, so I think I'm going to get myself something special that I'd really enjoy."

"Well, damn it, you deserve it. I say it's found money and you _should _buy whatever the hell you want with it. As for your parents not speaking to you, don't you worry about that, my mom and dad know how to throw one hell of a Christmas. They are so happy that you're going to be celebrating with us, Linds, you've become a second daughter to them, so get ready to have a blast, you'll never forget celebrating a Ryan Family Christmas," Shane proclaimed confidently.

When they arrived at the Ryan family household, Lindsay was both delighted and amused to see the massive display of lights and plastic characters decorating the front yard, it reminded her of her favorite Christmastime movie, _National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation_.

The girls unloaded their overnight bags and presents from the truck and Allison greeted them at the front door with a ginormous smile and cups of eggnog, spiked with Jack Daniels and dusted with fresh nutmeg spice on top.

Shane's father, Patrick, loaded another log into the fireplace and popped some Christmas tunes into the CD player and Allison came around and freshened the girls' glasses with more eggnog and brought them some decorative holiday pretzels, covered with white chocolate and red and green sprinkles, to munch on.

Everyone stayed up and conversed until about 1:00 a.m. and then retired for an early rise in the morning. The Christmas tradition in the Ryan household was that everyone rose at 6:00 a.m. and opened presents before enjoying a traditional breakfast of strong coffee, fried eggs, ham steak, home fries and warm Irish soda bread, served with creamy butter and orange marmalade.

The next morning, after opening presents and feasting on the huge and delicious breakfast, the phone rang about 8:30 a.m. and Allison rose to retrieve the phone and then announced, "Shane, it's for you."

"Who is it, Mom?"

"Ooops!" Allison muttered awkwardly. "I forgot to ask him his name."

"Him?" Shane and Lindsay said excitedly together.

Shane approached the phone expectantly, hoping it was Dean and much to her satisfaction, it was.

"Hi Shane, Merry Christmas!" Dean said cheerfully.

"Merry Christmas, hot stuff!" Shane returned playfully.

"Well, Shane, are you going to be around at your parents later on this afternoon?"

"Sure am, Mom's making a huge leg of lamb for Christmas dinner and Linds and I are gonna help out, we actually don't have to go back to Norwich until tomorrow afternoon for work."

"Well, that's great, I'd love to stop by and see you guys this afternoon if that's okay," Dean said hopefully.

"Of course it'd be okay. Are you driving yet?"

"Well, not exactly, I'll have my friend, Todd, drop me off," Dean replied.

"That's cool, Dean, and then Linds and I can take you back," Shane said.

"Okay, what time are you all having dinner? I mean I don't want to interrupt your family plans," Dean remarked.

"We always eat at two o'clock on Christmas day. Why don't you stop by at three? My mom made some kick ass Christmas desserts and you can join us. I'd love for you to meet my mom and dad."

"Sounds good, Shane, I'll see you all then," Dean replied warmly before he hung up the phone.

"So, don't keep us in suspense, Shane. Who's the mystery man?" Allison teased as soon as Shane hung up the phone.

"Dean Forester," Shane answered, almost in a whisper, as she stared off into space dreamily, knowing her Christmas wish had come true.

"Dean Forester?" Allison repeated incredulously. "Lindsay, you're actually _okay_ with Shane dating your ex-husband? Oh, Shane, hon', I don't think this is such a good idea. He fooled around on Lindsay and Lindsay's your best friend. If anything ever happened between me and your father, I wouldn't want my best friend, Linda, going out with him," Allison commented candidly.

"Oh, pleaaaassee, Alli, you know I would **never** date Linda, the big mouth, fat faced cow," Patrick chimed in.

"That's not the point, Paddy," Allison snapped back. "You know what I mean, I wouldn't like it if –"

"Mrs. Ryan, I'm the one who told Shane she should go out with Dean and as for him fooling around on me – yeah that hurt like hell, but you know what? It had a lot to do with Dean being pressured by my parents into marrying me and he was too young and confused by his own feelings to realize he was still in love with Rory Gilmore. I'm not saying they're completely to blame for what happened, but here they pressured both of us into getting married so quickly and then when it didn't work out, they guilted me into coming back home and then when they couldn't get their way about talking me out of moving to Norwich, they decided I wasn't worthy of being their daughter anymore, so I guess you could say I should have never let them talk me into getting married so young because they proved later on that their love for me is based on conditional terms and when someone only loves you conditionally, it's certainly not worth letting them steal your life away from you to please them. Anyway, I didn't mean to overload you with the burdens of my life on Christmas, but please realize that Shane and Dean are great together and that is why I was happy to give them by blessing and I am not worried about Dean messing around on Shane, he's more mature now and he learned his lesson."

"Maybe so, but what if Rory Gilmore wants him back again?" Allison's mother asked perceptively.

"I suppose that could happen, but he's reassured me he is over and done with her because he finally gets that she's an erratic girl, who acts really sweet, but in the end only thinks of herself, just like her mother," Lindsay answered.

"Well, okay, I guess I shouldn't be so worried." Allison relented. "Shane's always been able to take care of herself and she's never let any man upset her applecart, even that stupid Jess boy," Allison commented.

Dean showed up promptly at 3:00 and had gifts for both Shane and Lindsay and brought Allison a pretty Christmas Poinsettia plant.

"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Dean Forester. Dean, this is my mom, Allison and my dad, Patrick. Dad's a First Mate in the Merchant Marines and he's home with us until Sunday," Shane said.

"Oh, the Merchant Marines?" Dean asked with keen interest. "Lately, I've been thinking about joining the Coast Guard Reserves. I've decided I want to go to college and I hear the military service has a great tuition reimbursement program and since I've always had an interest in working on ocean vessels, I think the Coast Guard Reserves would be a good choice for me."

"Well, you've come to the right place if you need any information about the Coast Guard. I used to serve in the Guard and once I got out, that qualified me for a high paying position in the Merchant Marines. I think you'd really enjoy working in the Guard, Dean, in fact, I'm good friends with the local recruiter, his name is Ed Sampson and I'd be happy to –"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Paddy…it's Christmas. Can't this wait?" Allison asked in an exasperated tone of voice.

"Well, if I weren't leaving Sunday it could wait, Alli. Shane, go get me a pen and piece of paper," he ordered.

"All right, Daddy," Shane replied, rolling her eyes and looking at Dean both apologetically and with embarrassment.

"Now, here's his name and number, Ed Sampson," Patrick said as he handed Dean the piece of paper. "You be sure and tell him you're a friend of Patrick Ryan's and he'll take good care of you and give you all the information you need to know," Patrick said.

"Well, thank you, Mr. Ryan, I very much appreciate that."

"No problem, son, **now** we can have dessert. Allison, did you make my favorite peanut butter cream pie this year?"

"Oh, yes, Paddy… you know it wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't make the peanut butter cream pie," Allison said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She'd also made a brownie pecan pie and an apple walnut spice cake, but Patrick never touched any of her other desserts she made because he only wanted her peanut butter cream pie. "I also have brownie pecan pie and apple walnut spice cake if anyone would like to sample those instead."

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to try a slice of your walnut spice cake," Lindsay asked.

"Oh, Mom, you know me," Shane responded, "if I got a choice and chocolate's in the mix, you know what I'm going with. Bring me a hunk of that brownie pecan pie, please."

"Dean, how 'bout you, hon, what kind of dessert would you like?" Allison asked sweetly.

"Actually, I think a piece of the peanut butter cream pie sounds like it'd be delicious," Dean answered.

"You men just always gotta stick together, don't cha?" Allison responded, pretending to be annoyed.

Shane watched her mother disappear into the kitchen and smiled. She loved the thought of Dean and her father sticking together, and for a second she fantasized that Dean was their son-in-law and she just knew that he'd get along fine with his parents if they should ever marry, especially since Dean wanted to join the Coast Guard Reserves. She suddenly stopped her fantasy dead in its tracks, realizing it was way too premature to be dreaming of marriage with Dean and thought that she should just enjoy today and hope that their relationship would last for at least a little while.

After everyone finished off their coffee and dessert, Shane piped up and remembered that Dean had brought presents for her and Lindsay.

"Dean, can we open our presents now, pretty please?" Shane asked, sounding like a little girl.

"Please, by all means," Dean replied politely.

Shane ran to the foyer table and gathered up the presents, there were three of them. One was for Lindsay from Dean and the other two were for Shane. One was from Dean and the other gift was for her from Clara.

"You go first, Linds," Shane urged.

"Uh, okay," Lindsay agreed and began removing the decorative paper and red ribbon off her package. Inside was a bottle of Estee Lauder perfume, and Lindsay was impressed that Dean had remembered that was her favorite perfume. She immediately spritzed some on the inside of her wrist and savored the fragrance before she rose to give Dean a light kiss on his cheek to thank him. She realized that the gift must have been Dean's way of thanking her for giving her blessing for him to date Shane.

Next, Shane started to open her two gifts, she opened Dean's first. While Lindsay had daintily removed the paper around her present, Shane quickly tore the wrapping away from her gift and found a blue velvet box inside the paper and inside the box she found an exquisite, pink amethyst teardrop necklace with a diamond attached.

"Oh my gosh, Dean, is this really for me? You sure you didn't mix my gift up with another girl's?" Shane asked, almost disbelieving that Dean had gotten her such a nice present.

"No, sweetie, it's _your_ necklace," Dean replied and then Shane bent down and kissed him softly on his forehead to thank him. Suddenly it occurred to both of them that they'd never had a chance to be alone to have a real kiss. Dean pocketed that fact in his mind and realized he'd better make plans for them to be together some place alone so he could make that happen very soon.

"Well, okay," Shane replied, feeling flush and blushing, because she'd been thinking the same thing Dean had been thinking about their lack of kissing and she knew he was thinking about it, too. "Let's see, I have another gift here from Clara," Shane announced, ripping the paper off the package to reveal a December copy of _Brides_ magazine underneath the paper. Shane burst out laughing and held up the magazine for all to see. She was so impressed that Dean's little sister, Clara already knew they belonged together and had made up her mind that Shane was going to be her sister-in-law, no matter what.

Dean turned several shades of red and was almost mortified at the antics of his little sister and, of course, Allison had to get in on the fun.

"So _who_ gave you that magazine, Shane?" Allison laughed.

"Dean's little sister, Clara. Uh, Mom, Linds and I should really take Dean home now," Shane responded quickly, suddenly noticing how embarrassed Dean was and hoping to change the subject quickly.

"Oh, no, Shane, you're not getting off that easy…" Allison laughed mischievously.

"So, Dean, why do you think your little sister is so eager to get you married off to Shane?" she asked, playing with Dean. She also actually wanted to see how Dean would handle the subject generally as it pertained to him and Shane being married. If he acted too eager, like Clara, she would worry about his answer, if he acted too disdainful about a possible marriage between him and Shane, then she was going to corner Shane later and tell her to dump this guy.

"Clara took an instant liking to Shane the minute she came to visit me in the hospital after my accident. Even though she's a little girl, Clara's always been a good judge of character and when I saw how much she liked Shane, you might say that's part of the reason I wanted to ask Shane out."

_Good answer,_ Allison thought to herself silently, but said out loud, "well, that's great, Dean. My daughter **is** a good character and you tell that little sister of hers she's got good taste in picking out girlfriends for her brother."

"Well, okay, Mom…we gotta go," Shane said nervously. "Come on, Linds, we'll take Mom's car so Dean doesn't have to climb up into the truck with his crutches."

Once everyone got settled into the car and Shane started backing out of the driveway, she apologized to Dean for her mother's behavior.

"It's okay, Shane, I had to expect something after Clara went and pulled a ridiculous stunt like that, wrapping up a copy of _Brides_ magazine to give you," Dean replied embarrassedly.

All of the sudden, Lindsay broke out into laughter, "I'm sorry you guys," she choked between laughs, "but the more I think about the look on both of your faces when Shane unwrapped that magazine, the funnier it gets. Dean, that is one big drawback to our marriage ending so soon is that I didn't get to spend more time with Clara and enjoy her like I should have. She's actually a very neat little girl. Shane, you need to enjoy Clara and Dean, you need to appreciate your little sister," Lindsay declared.

"We do!" Shane and Dean declared simultaneously.

"Well, okay, then, no more bitching about the magazine and Shane, you be sure to thank her for it when we get to Dean's house and Dean, don't you dare jump all over Clara for giving Shane that magazine."

"Whatever, Linds," Shane said back, pretending to be sarcastic.

"Shut up, Shane," Lindsay said, pretending to be sarcastic back. "Now what?" Lindsay asked as Shane pulled into the parking lot of _Walgreens_, the only store that was open on their way Dean's house, besides _7-11_.

"I need to get Clara a gift since she was thoughtful enough to buy me one," Shane responded.

"Oh, Shane, that's okay you don't need to –" Dean tried to say, but got cut off because Shane ignored him and closed the door behind her quickly to keep him from finishing what he was going to say.

There wasn't much selection at the store, everything in the kids section was for children much younger than Clara, so she decided on a fragrance basket that had several strawberry scented products, including soaps, lotions, bubble bath, body spray and strawberry flavored lip gloss. She picked out a gift bag with angels on it to put the basket in and paid for her items and they arrived at Dean's house five minutes later.

Dean's parents greeted everyone as they came into the house and invited them to join them for hot chocolate and snowman gingerbread cookies. Seconds later, Clara came bounding down the stairs, still wearing her crimson satin dress and white stockings that she'd worn to church earlier that day, beaming from ear to ear when she spotted Shane sitting next to Dean.

"Hello, Clara," Shane said, rising to hug Clara, "thank you so much for your pretty Christmas gift, it was very nice."

"You're welcome, Shane. I hope you find a nice wedding dress that you can pick out in the magazine when Dean asks you to marry him," Clara declared confidently.

"Uh…well, we'll see, Clara," Shane replied uncomfortably.

"Clara, Shane brought you a gift, too, why don't you go ahead and open it now?" Dean interjected, trying to get Clara's mind off the subject of their "marriage."

"Okay," she responded brightly as Shane handed her the gift bag.

"Wow, this is great!" Clara exclaimed, feeling suddenly very grown up as she eyed the gift basket full of fragrances. "Thank you so much, Shane!" Clara said as she hugged her.

"Merry Christmas, Clara," Lindsay said.

"Oh, hi Lindsay, Merry Christmas," Clara replied hurriedly before she grabbed Shane's hand to go show her what else she'd gotten for Christmas.

Everyone watched Clara carrying on from the other end of the living room in amusement.

"I think Clara wants Shane and Dean to be together even more than they do right now," Lindsay laughed, directing her comment to Dean's mother.

"Oh, she's a smart little girl; she has a sixth sense about things. Most parents are pretty dismissive of children's opinions when they're that age, but her father and I have learned not to tune her out when she tells us things," Dean's mother replied.

Shane and Lindsay stayed for about twenty more minutes and they made up an excuse about watching a movie with Shane's mom and dad, then left. Neither of them felt comfortable hanging out too long at Dean's house with his family on Christmas. Shane didn't want Dean's parents to think she was too desperate to be with Dean by hanging out at their house too long on Christmas day and Lindsay was starting to feel funny about being there on Christmas day because it was bringing back too many memories of when she'd been at their house for Christmas when she was married to Dean.

On the ride home, Lindsay started feeling down and Shane could see it in her face.

"What's the matter, Linds?" Shane asked with a concerned tone to her voice.

"Nothing, Shane," Lindsay lied.

"Come on, Linds, you can't bull shit me," Shane replied.

"Oh, okay, Shane if you must know…I thought Marty would have called me on my cell phone today from his mom's house in Albany to wish me a Merry Christmas," Lindsay admitted disappointedly.

"Well, the day is still relatively young, he could still call," Shane said, trying to encourage Lindsay.

"'The day is still relatively young?'" Lindsay repeated incredulously. "Shane, it's almost dark now!"

"Mmm…I have faith Marty's gonna come through, even if you don't," Shane replied.

"What makes you so sure Marty's going to come through?" Lindsay asked skeptically.

"I don't know, you can ask him yourself," Shane replied smugly, having already spotted Marty's car in her mother's driveway when they turned onto Shane's block.

"Ask him myself?" Lindsay said in shock.

"Yep! He's here and I'm sure Allison's giving him a mouthful. You'd better hurry up and get in the house before she embarrasses you any more than she probably already has," Shane teased.

Lindsay did just that. The second Shane stopped the car, she tore through the passenger door and through the front door and straight into Marty's arms.

"Merry Christmas, baby!" Marty greeted, as his dark, espresso eyes twinkled with warmth at the sight of his beloved Lindsay.

"Merry Christmas, Marty!" Lindsay returned, hugging him close to her.

"I was telling Marty about a little diner that's open today, over in Waterbury. Lindsay, maybe you and Marty would like to go grab a cup of coffee for a while, then you're welcome to come back here and join us for some eggnog in front of the fire later on," Allison suggested, sensing how much Lindsay probably needed some alone time with Marty, especially since her own family had rejected her on Christmas.

"Oh, thank you so much for that suggestion, Allison," Lindsay responded, communicating volumes of gratitude to Shane's mother with her eyes. She knew exactly why Allison had told Marty about the diner and she was ecstatic that he'd come to surprise her on Christmas and that they were going to have the chance to be alone together, it was the best Christmas present she'd gotten this year.

When they pulled into the parking lot of the diner in Waterbury, Marty gave Lindsay a small package that was wrapped in shiny silver paper and tied together with a white ribbon and bow. She removed the ribbon and paper and inside was a black velvet box that held a pair of gorgeous emerald earrings. Lindsay put the earrings on and kissed Marty to thank him. Her kiss of gratitude turned into a very steamy kiss and Lindsay could feel herself burning with passion from head to toe. They continued kissing for several minutes until a family with young children pulled into the parking space next to them and then they cooled off for a few seconds and went into the diner.

Once inside the diner, they each ordered a cup of coffee, but had difficulty focusing on anything else but their mutual attraction. Lindsay still felt she needed to conceal the lust she felt for Marty because she was terribly afraid she could lose him if he thought she was cheap, so she tried her best to come up with a topic that would take their mind off their passion for a while, but she couldn't. They quickly drank their coffee and went back to his car and started kissing again, when she felt Marty's fingers inching down the small of her back, towards the top of her jeans, and she stopped him.

"Marty, I don't want you to think I'm a tease _or_ a slut, but making out in a car in the parking lot of a diner on Christmas isn't my idea of how or when I'd want to share my first heavy makeout session with you. We'll figure something out later, but I think we should go just back to Shane's house and hang out with her and her family for the rest of the evening."

Marty was disappointed, but at the same time he respected Lindsay for not giving into him too easily. He loved Lindsay so much that he would be willing to wait until she was ready to go any further, and he did not feel the need to pressure her into anything because she was definitely worth the wait.

Shane and her family were watching the antics of Ralphie Parker in the movie, _A Christmas Story, _when Lindsay and Marty returned to the house. Lindsay and Marty sat down and joined them and snickered at the story as they watched little Ralphie running to and fro, begging and pleading with every adult in the movie to let him have a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Allison went to into the kitchen to get Lindsay and Marty some spiked eggnog and also brought out a canister of homemade pecan divinity candy for everyone to share.

After the movie, Allison and Patrick excused themselves for bed and Shane turned the channel to the local news. The news opened with a quick word about the weather and then the announcer went into the top story of the day.

"_And a very Merry Christmas to all our viewers…We've just received a late breaking news bulletin that new arrests have been made in conjunction with the recent case concerning the hit and run accident that took place in Stars Hollow on November 28__th. __Originally, Logan Huntzberger, heir to the Huntzberger Publishing empire, was charged with this crime, but was cleared of all those charges at his trial that took place a few days ago, on December 21__st__. The driver of the red Jaguar involved in the hit and run accident has now been allegedly identified as Yale student and Australian expatriate, Finn Sheen. _

_Also arrested in this incident was the passenger of the vehicle, Colin McCrae, who also attends Yale, for neglecting to notify the authorities about the accident when it took place. Requests for bail have been denied for both parties, pending further investigations. We will bring you more details about this case as soon as we learn of further updates. _

_And in other news, Santa Claus and his reindeer were spotted at the…"  
_

"Wow, do you guys believe that?" Shane asked incredulously as she muted the sound so everyone could discuss the latest development.

"Good to see those clowns are getting what's coming to them," Marty commented. He was sorry about what happened to Dean but he almost felt like cheering when he realized Colin and Finn were sitting in jail on Christmas night and he was glad he would never have to bartend for them ever again.

"You can say that again," Lindsay commented. "I thought those two were scum bags, but scum's too good a word for jerks like that who leave the scene of the accident and then try to hang someone else for it."

"Well, I'm glad they caught the guys that did this to Dean and at least they're going to get what they deserve now," Shane commented with relief. "Hey, you guys, we still haven't firmed up our plans for New Year's Eve yet, but I think we should keep it simple since Dean's still recuperating," Shane suggested. "Why don't we all just do something here in town. Any ideas, Linds?"

"We could just go to the Log Cabin Pub," Lindsay replied.

"That's a great idea, Linds. Marty, you don't need to be driving back to New Haven that night, too many crazies out on the interstate, why don't you just make plans to spend the night here? My dad will be back out at sea by then, so I can double up with my mom. Linds, you can have my room and Marty you can stay in our guest room."

"That sounds great, Shane," Marty agreed as he cast a seductive smile in Lindsay's direction, something which did not escape Shane's notice.

"Now look guys, let's keep it respectable when Marty's here. No funny stuff, first of all I don't want Lindsay to be embarrassed to come back here with me on the weekends and Marty, you're a grown man so I don't have to explain to you why I don't want you making out with my best friend under my mom and dad's roof."

"Come on, Shane, like we'd really come in here and mess around. How insulting!" Lindsay replied naively, not quite aware of what Marty had been thinking when Shane suggested he spend the night with them on New Year's Eve.

Shane ignored Lindsay's comment and she gazed in Marty's direction to make sure he'd gotten her message, the look he gave her back told her he'd gotten it loud and clear. "Okay, then, we got all that settled, I'm gonna go call Dean and tell him our game plans for New Year's Eve then," Shane announced.

**Meanwhile, Over at the Gilmore Household…**

Lorelai had noticed Rory had been glum all day, despite the tremendous fortune in gifts she'd received from her parents and grandparents. Even being waited on like a queen by the servants at the Gilmore mansion had still failed to put her in a cheerful, holiday spirit.

Lorelai decided she couldn't bear to see her little princess unhappy on Christmas, so she dressed Paul Anka up in a little Santa suit and took him to Rory's bedroom where she proceeded to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" while Paul Anka looked on in confusion. Instead of laughing or smiling at Paul Anka and her mother, Rory just scowled and then turned around and started playing around with her computer and ignored Lorelai and her dog.

"Hey Sister-Friend," Lorelai said, "the least you could do is _pretend_ to be happy on Christmas. 'Tis the season to fake your merriness."

"Mom, being without a boyfriend on Christmas sucks!" Rory replied grumpily.

"Hey, me and my fella broke up right before Christmas and you don't see _me_ pouting," Lorelai replied.

"That's because you've got a backup boyfriend," Rory replied snippily.

"I do? Please let me know who that is, I'd love to be able to call Backup right now and have him come over here and straighten you out."

"Don't play dumb, Mom; everybody in Stars Hollow knows your backup boyfriend is Luke."

"Rory, he is my friend, not my…" Lorelai stopped what she was saying, realizing Rory was right, so she decided to deflect the topic back to Rory. "Well, uh, I know you've dated quite a few boys since high school. I'm sure you have a least one backup boyfriend you can take for granted, too. How 'bout Dean? He's not married to Lindsay anymore."

"Can't use him as a backup boyfriend cause we got into a fight at the hospital. You were there, don't you remember? That's when Dean's father called us sluts."

"Uh…yeah…okay, scratch him from the list. What about Jess?" Lorelai asked. She was sure he must be available because no other girl in the universe could tolerate his surliness except for Rory.

"Can't be him, he's married now," Rory replied quickly, remembering what Shane had told her.

"He's _married_? No offense, but I can't believe anyone would marry that ass and I also can't believe Luke never told me."

"Believe it," Rory deadpanned, she, too, had always thought Jess would be her fallback guy, but that theory had sadly proven to be incorrect.

"Mmm…I got it!" Lorelai cried out excitedly. "Why don't you go out with Naked Guy?"

"Marty?" Rory asked incredulously. "Marty's okay, but he's kind of boring," Rory moaned.

"He's not nearly as boring as your current boyfriend, Mr. Invisible. Come on, boring or not, he's sexy and he was always crazy about you, that means you can get him to do anything you want for you, which is a very good quality for a boyfriend to have."

"Oh…all right…I'll start dating Marty when I get back to Yale, then," Rory babyishly replied.

"That's the spirit, Sister-Friend, now why don't we plan on going to the Log Cabin Pub for New Year's Eve and kick up our heels at the bar and have some fun in the meantime?" Lorelai suggested cheerfully.

"Might as well," Rory answered unenthusiastically, "I don't have anything else to do that night."

**To Be Continued…**


	11. Chapter 11

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Eleven

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Lorelai, Dean, Logan, Marty, Jess, Paris and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

_**Hello everyone, welcome to the New Year's Eve edition of "Blondes Have More Fun." While the characters are getting ready for the party, please take a moment to read-up on what's going through their heads before they join the celebration. Dean's sister, Clara, is a little too young to go to the Log Cabin Pub, but her thoughts have been included for fun. To read a great story about Clara when she's older, please read "Revelling & Reckoning," a fantastic Cless story written by none other than the wonderfully talented Miguel51 and it was posted very recently (12/15/10).**_

* * *

_**SHANE**_

Shane was patiently sitting on the couch waiting for Lindsay to get out of the bathroom. Shane was nervous. Tonight was to be her first real date with Dean. Even though they had known each other for years, and had a few mild make out sessions since his release from the hospital. Shane admitted to herself that she really liked him and not because he was the best looking guy she ever went out with. Dean was a kind giving man. The incident with Rory was so out of character for him. She knew that he sincerely regretted it.

Shane was wondering what they would talk about. She knew that she was rarely at a loss for words, what would happen if she froze up and just looked at him like a love sick teenager. It was a shame he could not dance on account of him still being on crutches. Shane also wondered what would happen if Rory made a play for him. Dean had fallen for her charms twice before. The thought of him walking away with Rory and leaving her standing there frightened her, in fact it terrified her. On a logical level she knew he would not do that, but what if?

_**LINDSAY**_

Lindsay had finished in the bathroom. She decided to relax and wait before she got dressed for the evening. Lindsay took a beer from the fridge and kicked back on the couch. Tonight was her first really big date with Marty. She was worried that because she stopped him from going further during their last make out session, he might be mad at her. Marty had no idea how hard it was for her to stop him, but she was dammed if her first time with him was going to be in a back seat.

The more she was around Marty the more she liked him. He was kind and attentive. They never had a problem with conversation; Lindsay wondered why Rory had called him boring. Marty was anything but. Lindsay wondered if she called him that because he was not rich and loud mouthed blowhard like Logan and his friends. Lindsay found it interesting that Logan's so called best friend, Finn, tried to throw him under the bus. She knew that Shane would never do that to her.

Lindsay's thoughts went back to Marty. Actually she admitted to herself she half hoped he reserved a motel room for the night. She was aching with anticipation of his hands on her body.

_**DEAN**_

Shane was a girl he had always liked. He liked her sense of humor, and the offbeat remarks she made about people and the town. When he heard through the grapevine that she had given Taylor the finger, Dean laughed every time he thought of it. Shane had a way of being a tomboy and feminine at the same time.

Dean admitted to himself that he was falling in love with her, and not because the way she looked in a tight pair of jeans. He loved the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed. Shane had a way of making you feel like you were the only person in the room.

His thoughts turned to Lindsay, his ex wife. Till the day he died he would never forgive himself for what he did to her. She was a one in a million catch. Too bad he was too stupid to realize it. Dean could not believe his incredible luck. Shane came into his life another one in a million catch. The fact that Lindsay forgave him staggered his mind. He wondered if he was big enough to do what she did, but he did admit, she had one hell of a slap.

Dean did not know why but he was nervous as hell. They saw each other every chance they had and they did have a couple of delightful make out sessions, one of them which Clara had walked in and made a few catty remarks. What would he do if Shane found him boring? He felt like a tenth grader going on his first date.

_**MARTY**_

Marty was so nervous he was almost sick to his stomach. He felt so bad that he tried to go a bit further with Lindsay in the car. He wondered if she still liked him, he wondered if she forgave him. He wondered if she would even kiss him tonight. He wondered how an unassuming guy like him had managed to get a girl who would look at home on the cover of _Vogue_. Marty had a mixture of emotions when he was out with her. He did not know if he would ever get used to the stares he got whenever they were together, one part of him liked it, because he knew the other guys were jealous of him, the other part of him was afraid that one of those guys would take her away from him.

Marty was trying to figure out how to act on the date, when he remembered something his mother told him, just be yourself. He thought about Dean, how could one guy be so lucky? He had Rory, he had Lindsay and now he had Shane - talk about hitting the trifecta! Marty did admit to himself that he liked Dean. He found him to be an honest, hard working down to earth guy. He also liked Shane, he found her to be charming and saucy.

Marty looked into the mirror for last minute adjustments, He chuckled when he realized his image was staring back at him. Then the "let's be honest" moment came over him. He was in love with Lindsay. He vowed to himself if he was lucky enough to be kissing her again, he would keep his hands to himself. He would not attempt to touch her till they were married if that ever happened.

_**CLARA**_

Clara liked it that her brother and Shane were dating. She liked them together. She also liked Lindsay and was happy that she forgave her brother. Clara did not understand quite what happened, but she knew it was bad and Deans fault Clara was also sort of pissed, Everyone was going out but her. She swore the next time she heard "you're too young" she would scream. Clara wished that Bobby Adams would call her. He was a year older than her and her best buddy. They played baseball together on the same pony league team. They also played hockey together. They just liked hanging out with each other. Clara wondered what it was like to be kissed. It seemed like her brother and Shane did it all the time, so it must be a pretty enjoyable thing. Clara made up her mind, like it or not, Bobby Adams was going to get kissed - and real soon.

_**RORY**_

Rory was thinking, for the first time in years she did not have a boyfriend. What Logan did to her hurt. She couldn't get over the fact that someone she loved, and who she thought loved her, had betrayed her. It ate at her that she must be lacking something, why else would he stray? She wondered if he strayed because she was lacking in bed, or that he found her boring and uninteresting. Rory wondered what she lacked that made him wander. Rory thought of Lindsay, what did she have that she could take Logan away from her? When Rory had gone to school with Lindsay at Stars Hollow High, she had known, even then, how amazing beautiful Lindsay was, but had always considered her to be a typical Stars Hollow townie. Rory just pompously assumed a girl like Lindsay had a very dull future in store for her life compared to the marvelous life she was certain she was going to lead because she'd had the good fortune to be born a Gilmore.

She wondered why Dean married her and thought back to the second time her and Dean went out. He was with Lindsay, but he was still her Dean. She wondered if Lindsay felt anything when she found out Dean was having sex with her. Even her mother told her that she was screwing up when she started her affair with Dean.

A thought went through Rory's mind - maybe her actions hurt other people. For the first time she started to realize that maybe even _she_ wasn't all that extraordinary, that she was like other people. If she was extraordinary Logan would have not cheated on her. She was lacking in some area, but she could not figure out what it was.

_**JESS**_

He was thinking about his wife, and was looking forward to going with her to the New Years Eve party at the Log Cabin Pub. His _wife_, every time he thought of his wife he was amazed. He did not see Paris coming, Jess remembered back to that crazy town event that he really got to know her. Paris had an understanding of stories that amazed him; it was if she could see right into the author's mind. She read his book and told him exactly what he was thinking when he wrote it. It was eerie. Conversations with her could go on for hours. Her mind was clear and logical. Like him, she had a shitty family life. Even though her family was insanely wealthy, she had basically been abandoned by her parents as a child to be brought up by the housekeepers and her nanny.

Jess was amazed when she showed up at his shop in Philadelphia. He was even more amazed that they slept together the first night. She told him that it was right. He found out that she did not go to medical school because she wanted to go to Philadelphia to see him. He could not be nasty and wise crack with her. She came back at him faster than he could think. Both of them had a hard time being in relationships with other people, but they both knew they were right for each other from the first minute she arrived at his doorstep. From that moment on, they were inseparable and, for some strange reason, when they were together, they got along well with other people. For the first time in his life, Jess knew what it was like to be in love. What he thought had been love with Rory, paled into comparison to the true love he felt in his heart for Paris. Paris knew how to make him become a better person because she understood him so much better than Rory ever did. If anything happened to her, he did not think he could go on.

_**PARIS**_

One day she woke up and realized she was in love with Jess Mariano. She didn't worry about it though, because she knew that Rory's sole objective in her life was to be with Logan and that Jess no longer mattered to her anymore, so she packed her bags and went to Philadelphia to be with him. From the minute she walked into the shop and they spoke, she knew she was not leaving Philadelphia. She saw through Jess's sarcastic crap and his antagonizing ways. He basically was frightened and insecure and hurting like she was, but _together_ they didn't fear anything or let anybody bother them. It was like they were not complete without the other one.

Paris was a bit afraid when she got pregnant. She knew Jess loved her, but he had never shown any interest in children. She wondered if he would leave her. Paris thought back to when she told him. It was early in the morning and they were the only ones in the store. When she was finished telling him she was pregnant and she was sorry, he stopped her, kissed her, and asked her to marry him.

Paris was trying to make herself look sexy or as sexy as she could. Paris wanted to look good for Jess. She and Jess had come into town over the holidays to spend some time with Jess' mother, Liz and to visit with Luke and were staying at a hotel in the next town over. Liz' mom had suggested they might want to go the Log Cabin for New Year's Eve since she used to go there and party when she single. Paris was really looking forward to the party at the Log Cabin Pub because she knew it was probably one of her last few chances to have fun before the baby was born.

**DECEMBER 31****ST****, 4:45 P.M. NORWICH**

Shane and Lindsay had finished getting ready - or as ready as they could. They had their outfits picked for the night and were going to change at Shane's house. Lindsay was going to be picked up by Marty at the house and Shane had to go get Dean, as he could not drive yet. They looked at each other and laughed, "Lindsay, you look as nervous as I feel. Let's go down and wish Lenny a happy new year before he closes."

"Good idea, Shane, and I think I am going to have a shot of something."

Pete's was quiet when they walked in. Ida and Lenny were watching TV. "Hey, Lenny, come on you have paying customers."

Lenny looked over at Shane, "You know you have a voice that could wake the dead. Now what do you girls want?"

Lindsay and Shane sat at their favorite corner of the bar and ordered a couple of Baileys on the rocks.

When they received their drinks, the girls hoisted them and toasted Lenny and Ida a happy new year.

"You know if you girls wanted to work tonight you would make a fortune in tips."

Ida interrupted, "Lenny, these two young ladies have dates and I think working is the last thing on their minds. When was the last time you saw both of them wearing their hair down and notice them wearing a bit of makeup, not that they really need it."

"Well thank you, Ida, and Lindsay thanks you also when she comes back from la la land."

Ida smiled, "No problem, the main reason I am here is to keep Lenny on the straight and narrow. You girls want another one?"

"No Ida, we need to get going. What are you going to do tonight?"

"Shane, believe it or not my husband and me are going over to Lenny's house . We do it every year."

"How much do we owe you Lenny?"

Lenny looked up, "Shane go away and take your friend with you."

"Happy New Year!" Lindsay yelled as she and Shane walked out into the cold, starless night.

"Shane, I hate how early the sun sets this time of year. It is only 5:30 and it is dark as hell. Well, we should have a good ride to Stars Hollow." Lindsay started the truck, turned the heater to high and hoped the engine would warm up soon.. Lindsay looked at the heat gauge and saw it was rising and turned on the blower. The truck would be toasty in a few minutes. The girls were both lost in their own thoughts as the truck cruised outside the town limits of Norwich. There was nothing to see outside and the only light was the glow of the green tinted dashboard lights.

"Shane, what do you think is going to happen tonight?"

"Lindsay, I have no idea. I just hope everything is calm and we all have a good time. I think all will be good."

Shane, do you think Gilmore will show up?"

"Probably, Lindsay, but just ignore her."

"I keep thinking she will go after Marty and I will lose him."

"Look, that guy is so smitten with you, I don't think he realizes there are any other girls anymore."

"I don't know, Shane," Lindsay's voice dropped to a whisper. "We were making out and he wanted to go further and I stopped him." Lindsay's voice got louder, "He may think I am a prude and no fun and he may go look for another girl."

Shane laughed, "How long have you been thinking that and how did you come up with that scenario? Lindsay, don't worry about it. That boy would live like a monk to be with you."

"Shane, I don't want a monk I want..." and Lindsay's voice trailed off.

Shane looked at Lindsay intently. "You know, girlfriend, I think you want to get lucky."

Lindsay turned scarlet, "No, no, Shane, nothing like that."

Shane laughed again, "Whatever you say, Linds."

Lindsay's cell phone rang. She reached into her jacket pocket and handed it to Shane.

"Lindsay's phone," she answered.

"Oh hi, Shane, where is Lindsay?"

"Driving."

"Look, Shane, I have an idea. Why don't I pick up Dean and the four of us can leave from your house and it will save you from having to drive over there."

"Thanks, Marty, that would be wonderful, I really appreciate it."

"Okay, good, tell Lindsay I said 'hi.'"

"Bye, Marty and thanks!"

"Shane, what did he want? He is not canceling is he?

"No Lindsay, he thought I was you and he just told me how he wanted to ravish your body."

"Shane!" Lindsay yelled, "He would never say that. Please don't tease me."

"Lindsay, calm down. All he said was that he would pick up Dean to save me the trip over there, and then the four of us could leave from my house together."

Lindsay looked over at Shane five minutes later and saw that she was asleep. _That girl is like a cat_ she thought to herself. She can sleep anywhere, at any time. Lindsay pulled into the driveway and shook Shane, "We're here, rise and shine!"

Shane stretched, "Okay, I'm up, I wonder if my mother has anything to snack on?"

They entered the house to be warmly greeted by Allison. "All right, girls, have a seat in the kitchen, I want to talk to both of you."

"Oh goody, Lindsay, you get to share in the lecture with me this year."

"What lecture?"

"You'll see."

Allison gathered them in the kitchen and sat them at the kitchen table with her at the head of the table. When they sat down, Lindsay, for some reason, noticed the cuckoo clock on the wall. In all the time she spent there, she had never heard it go off once.

"Girls, I know that you two have dates tonight and I want to let you know if everyone drinks too much tonight and you all need a ride home, call me and I will come get you. Oh… and Lindsay, I know Marty is going to stay over in the guest room downstairs tonight so he doesn't have to make the long drive back to New Haven with all the drunks out on the road and Shane, Dean is welcome to flop here tonight, too, but both of them have to stay downstairs. If either one of them thinks they can get away with any funny business with you girls because Shane's father's away, they're gonna find out real quick what kind of trouble they'll be in if I have to call your uncle Dave over here to deal with them. Other than that, I really don't have too much to say, except…go change. I know you're not going in those jeans and - have a wonderful time at the party tonight."

Lindsay and Shane grabbed the hangers that had their change of clothes and went upstairs. Lindsay opted for the simple black dress. Her long blonde hair cascading over the dark material made it a pleasing contrast. Lindsay looked at the cross she always wore and thought about taking it off, but decided at the last moment not to. It was given to her on her thirteenth birthday by her parents. Even though she was on the outs with them, she liked to carry a little bit of them with her. She also put on two small diamond ear rings. They'd be given to her by Dean on the last Valentine's Day they spent together and she wondered if he'd remember them if he'd saw he with them on, but she decided screw it, she liked them and she was going to wear them.

Shane was wearing a crushed velvet dress with mixed blues in it that ended just above the knee, a saucy black beret and a waist length black leather jacket, high boots, with a couple of long necklaces and decided to put her hair in pigtails and wear bright red lipstick.

Lindsay looked over at her and shook her head; only Shane could pull that outfit off. It reflected her zany personality and she looked gorgeous in it at the same time. Lindsay laughed a bit to herself and told Shane, "That outfit will knock Dean back on his heels." She then turned to Shane and did a little spin and asked about herself, "Do you think Marty'll like this outfit?"

"Lindsay, stop worrying, you could show up in an outfit from the dollar store and he'd still think you were sexy. That's just a given. Now me, that's another story, are you _sure_ Dean will like me in this outfit or were you just saying that to be nice?" Shane asked nervously.

"Shane, Dean has never seen you in a dress before and when he sees you in that, his world will be rocked, trust me."

They heard Allison yelling up the stairs to come on down, saying something about two good looking boys who were impatient and were going to leave soon.

The girls came down the stairs and there were no boys. Lindsay looked at Shane and panicked, "Where did they go?"

"Don't worry, my normally sane mother goes a tad nuts this time of year, they are in the living room."

Dean and Marty were seated on the couch and Allison was making conversation with them while she served them coffee. "Nice of you ladies to make it, please be seated".

Once Allison had them all seated, she played the role of hostess for about twenty minutes, gently admonishing them again about drinking and driving. When she mentioned to Dean he was also welcome to stay over, she noticed his smile and quickly made it clear he'd be staying down downstairs in the guest room and that Shane's room was off limits. She told them all to have a good time, and then excused herself.

Shane stood up, "Please excuse my mother's temporary insanity."...Marty interrupted "Actually, I think it is sweet and it shows that she cares. Also, it gave her time to take measure of who her daughter was going out with."

"You think, Marty? She has known Dean for years."

"True Shane," Dean added, "but she does not know Marty. Your mom was also looking out for Lindsay, that is why Marty was asked most of the questions."

Shane thought to herself, _Mom is slicker than I thought_, but then again, her mom never ceased to amaze her.

The four of them got into Marty's car for the short ride over to the Log Cabin Pub.

Upon entering, they realized that they were early. Shane noticed Rose at the bar. "Come on, let's say hi to Rose."

"Well, well, I see the gang is all here. I finally get to see you all under one roof." Rose handed Shane a reserved sign and told her to put it on a table she pointed out. "Now you can hang at the bar till it gets busy and have a table to go to."

"Thank you, Rose, and we will take four beers."

"Coming right up, Shane."

When the beers arrived, Shane held up her beer, "Let's have a toast…Here's to our first double date and may there be many more!" she declared and they all clinked their bottles in agreement.

The Log Cabin Pub was a fairly good sized establishment, they liked to keep the lights down, but not to the point you could not see. The tavern had a dining area that opened up to all for New Year's Eve. There were also a couple of pool tables and a bracket shaped bar with the kitchen and coolers behind the bar. The owners, knowing that food is good for drinkers, put out a hearty buffet which you could have for 10 dollars. They also had extra bartenders and waitresses for the expected crowd.

It was sort of quiet between the four of them. Shane's mind was racing, trying to figure out a way to get everyone talking. They all knew each other so it should not be a problem. "Dean," Shane asked, "were your parents surprised that Marty picked you up instead of me?"

"Sort of, I think they were looking forward to seeing you, I know Clara was."

"Shit," Shane said to herself. Now she wished she had declined Marty's kind gesture. "So Dean, did they think you had switched teams?"

Dean looked at her like she had lost her mind and then started laughing, "Where in the world do you come up with that stuff?"

The music had started and they decided to move over to the table and Lindsay asked Marty to dance. It was a nice slow song. Lindsay was puzzled, Marty was holding her like he was dancing with his mother or sister, he also made sure his hand did not touch her skin anywhere but her hands.

"Shane, I can't dance, if you want, you can dance with other people. I won't be offended."

"Dean, I am here with you, and I am staying with you. We will have plenty of time to dance later. Anyway, I could just sit in your lap and we could make out all evening."

"Shane, I just might take you up on that."

Dean spotted a Jess and a pregnant Paris looking for a place to sit. "Shane, we have room. Ask them to sit here."

Shane walked over to Jess and Paris, "Hey, there are a couple of seats where we are, why don't you join us?

Jess started to say 'no thanks,' but Paris interrupted him, "Thank you, very much, I would appreciate it."

Instead of the trademark Jess scowl usually gave, he just smiled and said, "Okay, honey."

Shane thought she was in an alternative universe. This was when Jess usually had something shitty to say.

When Lindsay and Marty returned from their dance, Shane decided to make the introductions. She knew that there were a few interlocking relationships, "Okay Jess, you know my date, Dean, and the other couple is Marty and Lindsay. Paris, you know Dean and Marty. And Marty's date is Lindsay."

Paris was graciously speaking to Dean and Marty, saying, "Good seeing you again" and to Lindsay," nice meeting you," while Jess kind of held back.

Dean looked at him, and stuck out his hand, "Get over yourself, Jess." Paris turned and gave Jess a quick stare to reinforce Dean's comment.

"Yeah okay, Dean nice seeing you," he replied and finally shook his hand.

"Look, Jess, any reason we had in the past to dislike each other is gone."

Jess nodded. "You're right, and thanks for the invite."

Marty reached over and shook Jess' hand, "Glad to meet you, you must be a hell of a man to marry Paris."

While everyone was chatting at the table, Paris took stock of the people sitting there. It had become obvious to her that everyone at the table had a line back to Rory Gilmore. It took her a while to figure out that Lindsay was Dean's ex-wife. She knew that Dean had a wife when Rory went out with him the second time. She did not expect her to be sitting at a table with the both of them, and they seemingly were getting along. Paris also wondered if Rory was going to show up tonight. She was also fairly certain Rory did not know about her and Jess. As far as Rory knew, she went off to Harvard for medical school.

Dean and Jess found out that they had a lot in common besides Rory, they both liked cars and baseball, Jess found it amazing that Dean built Rory that car from scraps in a junk yard. The man was truly talented, but just to keep arguments alive between the two of them, Jess let Dean know he thought his team, The New York Yankees were hot and that the team Dean liked, the Boston Red Sox, was shit.

Lindsay decided to take Marty out to the dance floor. Again, he handled her like a china doll. Lindsay was thinking to herself, _Maybe I don't look hot to him anymore_. She couldn't understand why Marty wouldn't be attracted to her tonight. She had purposely chosen a backless dress to seduce him, hoping to feel the stroke of his sensuous hands against her bare flesh while they danced. Disappointed at the way he was acting, Lindsay pulled him in tighter and kissed him. She felt him stiffen in her arms, there was a problem and she was going to find out what it was. Lindsay took Marty by the hand and led him off to a quiet area of the tavern. "Marty, what is your problem?"

"Lindsay, I don't have a problem. I am trying to be a gentleman because I respect you."

Lindsay looked at him puzzled, "Marty, you have never been anything but a gentleman with me, so what gives?"

Marty felt like a trapped rat, "I just don't want to offend you, honey."

Lindsay was really confused. "Marty, what is offensive about putting your hand on my back or kissing me?"

Marty stammered, "You know the last time we were kissing you stopped me, I did not think you wanted to do anything like that. I thought you did not want to be touched."

Marty, there is a time and a place for that. I don't think that feeling me up in a cold car is the time or place, but trust me, I **want** you to touch me, when the time is right," Lindsay looked around to make sure that no was watching them and and took Marty's hand and placed it on her breast and then put her arms around his neck and pulled him close into her, and kissed him. After a minute, she broke the kiss and whispered sexily, "Marty, this was not the right place, but I hope you get the idea."

They returned to the table and Shane looked up, "Where did you and Marty wander off to?"

"Oh… I just saw a girl I knew from school and said 'hi.'"

Then Shane looked at Marty, _Well that was a lie,_ she thought to herself and laughed. Marty looked like he was flying over the moon.

Shane turned to Dean, "Hey, boyfriend, would it hurt if I sat in your lap?"

Dean grinned, "Only one way to find out."

Shane scooted up on his lap and put her arms around his neck, "Now, I can kiss you whenever I want."

"Go for it girlfriend."

Dean, who knew Paris and Jess fairly well, was amazed at how attentive Jess was to Paris and how sweet Paris was to everyone at the table. The Paris he knew would have had the girls in tears by now and the guys checking their nuts to see if they were still there. In a million years he figured he would never see this. Then Shane started kissing him and he lost his thoughts of Paris and Jess altogether.

Lindsay walked up to the bar to get some napkins and beers, "Hey Rose, the place is really starting to jump."

"Yes it is. I am surprised there are no fireworks at your table. What are you guys going to do if Rory comes in and decides to go after one of your guys?"

"Rose, I don't think any of the guys are interested in her, plus I think Shane said something about kicking her ass."

Rose laughed. "I don't think I would like to tangle with Shane. She is a little spitfire."

Lindsay turned and there was Al and Craig standing behind her. "Hey guys, how are you? I'd invite you over to the table, but we're full. I would like you guys to save me a dance for later."

Al smiled, "I'd love to, but we are with dates," and he introduced Lindsay to Karen and Claire.

"Nice meeting you Karen and Claire" and Lindsay walked back to the table.

"Al," Claire asked with a bit of jealousy in her voice, "since when did you start hanging out with girls who belong on magazine covers?"

"Since she and her friend cleaned mine and Craig's clock at pool. They are nice girls, so please don't start. It is what it is, friends only…"

Even though they were dateless, Rory was glad Lorelai suggested they go out to the Log Cabin on New Year's instead of staying at home. If you lived in Stars Hollow and weren't invited to a party, the Log Cabin was always the next best choice to staying home on New Year's. After all, how thrilling could it be to watch yet another installment of "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve," while waiting for that stupid ball to drop over Times Square at the stroke of midnight on TV? When she was little, Rory and her mother used to watch it every year just to make fun of Dick Clark, but all their jokester material had gotten stale and now with Dick Clark being practically at death's door, it was starting to feel too mean for even _them_ to be mocking him.

Lorelai and Rory walked through the front door and saw that the festivities were in full swing. They looked around for a table and realized that they were all occupied. "Come on, Mom, let's sit at the bar. There are two seats by the waitress station." Lorelai and Rory grabbed the stools and decided, that since it was New Year's Eve, they would order fancy and decided on two apple martini's.

Rose brought the drinks over and asked, "Cash or credit?"

Lorelai said "credit" and Rose nodded her head and walked off. "Mom, what is Luke doing tonight? I sort of figured you would go out with him."

"Rory, I asked, but he told me he had other plans and did not elaborate, which is typical Luke."

"Mom, he is probably in his man-cave, drinking beer and watching back to back episodes of 'My Favorite Bait and Tackle Shop' on the Fishing Channel Network."

Lorelai laughed, "Maybe so, but he has been acting a little distant lately, so I guess he could be mad at me for whatever reason…So, Rory, don't you miss Logan at least a little bit?"

Rory leaned forward so she did not have to speak loudly over the ever increasing noise of the tavern. "I can't believe you would even ask me that question, Mom," Rory replied bitterly. "Especially after he cheated on me with, of all people - Lindsay Lister. I can't see anything about her that she has that is better than what I had to offer him. Even Dean figured out that she was no substitute for a girl like me. I can't believe a guy like _Logan_, who's ten times more sophisticated than Dean is, would have fallen for an ordinary girl like her. I mean, I know she's kind of pretty, but other than that, what's so special about her?"

Lorelai was about to answer her, but a couple she knew stopped by and started chatting with her.

Rory still wondered to herself, _What does Lindsay have that I don't? _All her self doubts came back to her: Was Lindsay smarter than her? Were her conversations more witty? Was she sexier? Did she kiss better? What made Logan chase after her? That question would haunt her for a long time. The doubts about herself was eating away at her.

"Rory," hearing her mother call her name brought her back to reality. "Rory, she does not have anything you don't have. You're a Yale graduate and she is just a first year junior college student. She teased and tempted Logan. No telling what sleazy things she did to lure him."

"It was revenge mom. Just pure and simple revenge and hate towards me."

"Rory, I guess she does carry a grudge, but Dean never loved her the way he loved you. I don't see why she should be so mad."

Rose overheard the conversation and almost stepped in to defend Lindsay. Then she thought to herself, _Some__ people just don't get it. _She shook her head and also wondered how two very intelligent, talented people could be so clueless as to other people's feelings.

Rory spotted Jess walking toward the bar. "Mom, there is Jess. I wonder what he is doing here, I am going to say hello to him," Rory announced, then stood up and intercepted him. "Jess, how are you? What are you doing here? I'd like to talk to you."

Before Jess could answer, she felt a tapping on her shoulder. Rory turned and saw a pregnant Paris Geller. "Paris, what are you doing here?"

"Enjoying bringing in the New Year with my husband, and friends."

Rory hugged Paris, "Congratulations, I guess that explains the baby bump. Who did you marry, Paris?"

Paris simply said, "Jess Mariano."

Rory felt like she had been hit with a sledgehammer. She reeled a bit and all the background noise faded away. "No, not _Jess Mariano_, the guy **I** used to date?"

Paris watched Rory turn even whiter than she was. Paris wondered if she was going to fall over. "Yes, Rory the one and the same."

Rory stuttered "How, Why?

"How?" Paris echoed. "With a Rabbi. Why? Because we love each other."

Paris took Rory by the hand, then turned to Jess, "I'll be back in a few, honey," and kissed him.

Paris led Rory to the same quiet nook that Lindsay and Marty went to earlier. Paris found two chairs against the wall. "Let's sit, Rory, I want to talk to you."

Rory was a bit irritated and a bit curious. "What about, Paris? That you got Jess and I didn't?"

"Not at all, Rory, I need you to listen to me. I am actually your friend, even though we did not start out that way, but a friend I am. Because I am a friend, I am going to tell you something. You need to listen to me."

Rory nodded her head in assent.

"Rory, look at that table over there," and Paris pointed to her table by the bar. "Who do you see sitting there?"

Rory looked, "Well, Dean, Shane, Marty, Lindsay, and Jess. Why do you ask?"

Paris stared intently at Rory, "You really don't get it, do you?"

Rory was getting annoyed, "Get what, Paris?"

"Rory, let me tell you something. You are not a bad person. You can be kind and generous, and a good friend, but you have one very glaring fault."

"Paris, this is stupid, I don't see where this is going or see you telling me how you and Jess got together."

"Rory, you never, ever take into account the consequences of your actions. You are oblivious to the havoc you cause in peoples' lives. You're so self centered, you think the world revolves around you. For example, take Lindsay, when you decided to take Dean back, did you ever consider what you did to that girl? Did you ever consider the pain you caused her? No, you just wanted Dean so you took him. And I say shame on Dean for going along. Now let's take Dean. Twice you started relationships with other boys and forgot to tell him about it. You did not have the common decency to tell him that you were moving on, no, you let him swing and wonder what he did wrong to cause you to be cold to him. Dean figured it out twice and broke up with you. So the whole town goes 'oh poor Rory, Dean broke up with her,' not knowing you were throwing another boy in his face."

"Paris, this is crap. I am not going to listen to this anymore."

Paris stood up and pointed a finger at Rory,"You are _not_ moving till I am done. **SIT**."

"Now Rory, let's take Marty. You strung him along for years. You never came out and told him 'Marty, I just want to be your friend.' You told him after he forced the issue, but for years you let him spin in the wind, a nice backup for wonder boy Logan. Now let's take Shane, Jess was her boyfriend, and Jess is not totally innocent in this either. You were rude to her, and did not respect the fact that her and Jess were a couple at the time, and you needed to back off. No, you could not do that. You just totally disrespected her and went after Jess anyway. Yes, Jess was interested in you, but the fact remains you crapped on her. Let's take Jess now. I know Jess can be difficult, I married him, but basically you just flip flopped your relationship. Now Jess was the boyfriend and Dean was the guy on the side. And even after you dumped Dean to get Jess, you drove him away from you because you made him feel like he had to live up to some sort of impossible ideal to be worthy of being your boyfriend."

"Rory, you're the same age as those people. They have been your classmates, boyfriends, and friends. You would think you would be welcome to join that table...Don't even think about it. I don't know about Lindsay, but I do know about Shane. If she feels you're going after Dean she will most likely knock you on your ass. Rory, other people have feelings, they are not just props in the main event you call your life."

Paris stood up, "Think about what I have said, Rory, I am going to rejoin my husband."

Rory sat there for a few minutes, then before she could get up, the Band played _Wicked Game_ by Chris Isaak. She listened to the words and wondered...

_The world was on fire and no one could save me but you.  
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do.  
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you.  
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you. _

_No, I don't want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)  
No, I don't want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)  
With you (This world is only gonna break your heart) _

_What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way.  
What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you.  
What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way.  
What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you and, _

_I want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)  
No, I want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)  
With you. _

_The world was on fire and no one could save me but you.  
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do.  
I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you.  
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you, _

_No, I want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)  
No, I want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)  
With you (This world is only gonna break your heart)  
No, I... (This world is only gonna break your heart)  
(This world is only gonna break your heart) _

_Nobody loves no one. _

Lorelai was starting to wonder where her daughter had gone off to. She stood up and started walking and looking around. She spotted Rory sitting in a nook by herself. Before she could go over, Rory stood up and walked over toward her, "Come on, Mom, let's go back and sit. I need a drink."

"So, Rory, where did you wander off to?"

"No place special, Mom. I just had a conversation with Paris."

"Is she here? Why would she be here? I thought she was going to medical school in Boston."

Rory played with her swizzle stick. "Mom, she is married to Jess Mariano and is having his child."

"Rory, you're kidding me, I wonder why Luke did not tell me about that?"

"Oh, Mom, it gets better, Lindsay is at the table with Marty and Dean is also sitting at that table with Shane."

"You're kidding, Rory they must hate each other. Lindsay should hate Dean and Jess should hate Dean and Dean should hate Jess and Shane should hate Jess."

"Yeah, I know," Rory said glumly, "but instead, they all hate _me_."

"Rory," Lorelai said shocked, "don't say that. Why in the world would they hate you?"

"According to Paris, I've done all of them wrong."

"Don't believe that, she is just jealous."

"Jealous of what, Mom? She is the one sitting there with a husband, having a good time with all of them."

Lorelai laughed, "So. You're sitting here with me having a good time. When I see, Luke, I will have to ask him why he did not tell me about Jess and Paris."

Rory was glumly looking at their table when a blonde girl with a man in an army uniform walked over to it. She watched curiously as Paris stood up and hugged the couple. Paris said something that caused the couple to look over in her direction. The man just shrugged his shoulders. She saw that the table next to theirs was empty, and they pulled the two tables together. That is when she noticed the couple was Tristan Dugray and Louise Grant, from Chilton. At least Paris could not say she did anything to the two of them. She briefly wondered if she should walk over to say 'hi,' and decided that would be pretty awkward. Rory was pretty sure that Paris would have told them she was here, and if they were interested, they would come on over.

Lorelai said to Rory, "Let's have another drink."

"I don't think so, Mom, if you don't mind I would just as soon go home."

"Why? It's not even midnight yet."

Rory pointed over to their table, "I'm sorry, they just bring me down."

"Come on Rory, ignore them," Lorelai paused and then said, "you know, I just noticed something…all the girls are blondes."

Rory looked back to the table, and noticed Shane, Lindsay, Paris, Louise _were_ all blonde and all of them were sitting at the table with men who were in her life at one time. _Why am I sitting here alone with my mother_? she asked herself.

Lorelai casually added, "Maybe blondes do have more fun!" and laughed.

Rory looked at her like she lost her mind and then noticed another couple was joining the group. It was Luke with Nicole Leahy, his wife, ex wife, or something in between. Rory tugged on her mother's sleeve and pointed, "Yeah, Mom, maybe blondes do have more fun. Should we go out and by some rinse tomorrow?" she said sarcastically.

Lorelai's mouth dropped open when she spotted Luke with Nicole and she said only half-joking, "Omigosh, Rory, it's like we're trapped in a horror movie and we're being attacked by the _Invasion of the Blonde Boyfriend Snatchers_. No wonder Luke's been distant to me lately," she commented incredulously, wondering when, or why,he'd started seeing Nicole again. She reached for her cell phone, she was going to call Luke and find out what gives.

"Mom, who are you calling?"

"Luke, I want to know what is going on."

Rory put her hand on her mother's arm, "Don't, he is with her because he wants to be. Let's just go."

Paris made an announcement, "Listen up guys. I want everyone to have a good time and since I can't have anything to drink, for obvious reasons, I volunteer to be everyone's designated driver tonight. Jess and I have a Suburban and we can fit all of you in it for the drive home. So just plan on leaving your cars here tonight and we'll bring you back in the morning to pick it up."

The five couples had a fantastic time. The conversation flowed freely, while everyone took turns dancing with each other, except for Dean, who finally convinced Shane to go dance, he did not mind. He did notice that she was very protective of him.

At midnight, they thought the roof came off the place with all the yelling and clapping. They were all going around the table kissing each other. Jess was walking around the table and looked in Dean's direction and muttered "not happening." Dean laughed, thinking to himself, _Maybe the old sourpuss does have a sense of humor._

At two o'clock they called for the bill. The girls all got together and started figuring out who had what so they could divide the bill up. Dean just shook his head and asked, "What is the total?" Lindsay looked up from the bill to answer, "With the food and everything, it comes out to two hundred and eighty dollars." Dean divided two hundred eighty by five and came up with fifty six dollars.

"Okay, Luke and Tristan, you were late arrivals, you ante up thirty five a piece and Jess, Marty and I will ante up seventy a piece. The tip should be about sixty dollars, so guys throw in fifteen more. That should cover it. All the guys nodded their assent. It made total sense to them.

"But, honey," Paris said to Jess, "someone may be paying too much."

"Dear," he replied, as he leaned down and kissed her, "I don't give a rat's ass. It is not important. We will be here all night if we do it your way."

Paris started all of them in motion to her SUV, not an easy task considering their various states of intoxication and desire to make out all over the place. She finally got them all in the vehicle and announced, "Okay, this is how we are going to do this. Luke and Nicole, we'll take you home first. Marty, Dean, and Lindsay, since you're all spending the night at Shane's, we'll drop you off next, and that leaves Tristan and Louise, who are staying at the same hotel we are, out of town, so they'll go with us. Tomorrow, I will pick up everyone and take them to their cars."

Luke spoke up, "Look, be at the diner no later than ten thirty. Breakfast is on me and if someone brought some vodka for Bloody Marys, I'd have no objection."

After Paris stopped at Shane's house and let everyone out, Allison heard a commotion on her front door step and went to investigate. She opened the door to see the two couples hanging onto each other. Allison wisely knew if she left them wandering around the house on their own, they might not all make it to the right rooms.

She greeted everyone with a loud and cheerful "Happy New Year!" and then led the two boys to a spare bedroom on the first floor. She had already made up the regular bed and the air mattress that was on the floor. It was up to Marty and Dean to decide which one of them got the bed and who got the mattress. She handed them extra pillows and blankets and some mini bottled waters, in case they got thirsty during the night. Satisfied the boys were taken care of, she headed to the kitchen to round up the girls and get them settled in their rooms for the night.

When she walked into the kitchen, she saw Lindsay staring at the cuckoo clock again. She wondered what Lindsay's fascination with this old clock was when Lindsay turned to her and asked, "Why doesn't the clock go cuckoo if it's a cuckoo clock?" Allison started to explain and then just sighed because she was just too tired to go into any long explanations. "Lindsay, I'll tell you in the morning, hon'. You two need to go to bed now and get some rest," she advised. She then led the two girls upstairs.

The next morning, they were all gathered at Luke's in various stages of hangovers.

"Don't worry guys. As soon as you get one of Shane's special Bloody Marys down, you will feel like new people."

"Please hurry up, Shane, and stop talking," Lindsay said and put her head down on her arms.

"Yeah, with that drink and Uncle Luke's greasy bacon you all will be fine," Jess added mischievously.

Luke stuck his head around the corner from the kitchen, "Shut up, Jess I heard that.

Lorelai and Rory were driving out of town to have New Year's Day brunch with the senior Gilmores when Rory looked in the direction of the diner and said, "Look Mom, Luke's is open."

"No way!" Lorelai said excitedly, suddenly craving Luke's coffee. "He is _**never**_ open on New Year's Day."

"So then, what are all those people doing in there?"

Lorelai jammed on the brakes and made a U-turn and pulled up to the diner and looked in. "The sign says 'Closed,' Rory."

Lorelai hopped out of the jeep and walked to the door and turned the handle. It was locked. She banged on the glass till she got someone to notice her. Jess walked to the door and opened it.

"Hi, Lorelai, what can I do for you?"

"How come you're open? I did not think you were open on New Year's Day?"

"We're not, Lorelai, it is a private party. I'll tell Luke you stopped by, he is very busy right now. Happy New Year, Lorelai" Jess said, then closed the door in her face.

Lorelai walked back to the jeep, and looked back over at the window. "Rory, I feel like we are on the outside looking in."

"Mom, it's because we are. Let's go to Grandma's, this is depressing."

Later on in the diner, all were stuffed and feeling a lot better.

Jess turned to his wife and said, "Honey, another round of those Bloody Marys and you will be driving them all home again."

"Well, you can certainly afford to have another Bloody Mary, Jess, since I'm driving, but I'm not running a permanent taxi service for the other folks. Some of them live within walking distance from this diner and I'm sure the others can find rides. By the way, while we're on the subject…when I have our child you are going to _owe_ me. I fully intend to get together with these ladies and have a night out and you'll be our chauffeur when I'm ready."

Lindsay whispered in Shane's ear, "Can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"Sure, Linds, let's sit at the counter."

"Shane, I am going to ask you a big favor. Next Saturday, I am not going to go to Stars Hollow with you, but I'll give you the truck."

"How come, is something wrong?"

"Shane, I want to have Marty over for dinner." Lindsay rushed on before Shane could say anything, "I love him so much, he is the one. I know it, he loves me also. I just want to be alone with him, _pleaaaase._"

Shane thought for a minute, "Okay, Linds, will you wash dishes for the next week?"

"Yes."

"Will you take out the garbage for the next week?"

"Yes."

"Will you cook for the next week?"

"Yes."

Shane looked up at Lindsay's earnest face, "You are such a goof, of course you can have him over. You really believed that I would make you do all that?"

"Yes."

Shane stood on her toes and hugged Lindsay, "Linds, you are such a sweet girl. Marty is going to be a lucky man."

"Dean is too, Shane. You are so right for him. Do you think your mom would know something is up if I paid her a visit and you stayed behind in Norwich?"

Shane laughed, "Let's get him whole again; I don't want to break him."

They rejoined the group and Marty asked, "Where did you two go off to?"

"Girl talk, Marty," Shane answered and added quickly "nothing to do with you."

They made Luke sit and everyone chipped in cleaning up the diner, and had one more Bloody Mary. They all agreed that it was the best New Year's Eve they ever had, and they would not wait till next year before they got together again.

Shane, Lindsay, and Louise each had a note in their coat pockets from Nicole informing them that she was going to throw a baby shower for Paris in Philadelphia. They were all invited and she would make the transportation arrangements for everybody and let them know before the shower in mid-January.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	12. Chapter 12

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Twelve

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Lorelai, Dean, Logan, Marty, Jess, Paris, and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

**_Welcome back to the story everyone. Take a breather from all your last minute Christmas preparations,  
grab an eggnog and tune into the latest episode of "Blondes Have More Fun"!_**

* * *

**Later that day on New Year's…**

Rory picked up the phone to dial Lane. She didn't have to be back at Yale until January 8th, so she had plenty of empty time on her hands. She missed having a boyfriend and she missed having sex. Life without either was pretty boring and made it almost seem like a complete waste of time without it.

"Hi Lane," Rory spoke softly into the phone, so depressed she was almost on the verge of tears.

"Rory!" Lane yelled into the receiver cheerfully. "Happy New Year!"

"Oh, yeah…uh…Happy New Year," Rory answered back, not even thinking about that greeting since the fiasco of the New Year's party at the Log Cabin Pub.

"Well, Zach and the boys have missed ya! When are you coming over here?"

"Uh, Lane, I guess I could come over one night, but for now…I was wondering…do you think we could just go out and get a couple of drinks and just hang out by ourselves tonight? I really need to get out of the house and talk to you privately."

"Well…why not? How often does a married lady get to do that? I'll just leave the twins with Mrs. Kim since Zach and Hep Alien have a gig tonight. "

"Great, Lane. I'll be by your house at 7:00 to pick you up."

"Sounds good, Rory!" Lane replied enthusiastically. "Should we go to the Log Cabin?"

"Oh, no way, that small town bar is for amateurs. Let's just get out of town and stop at the first place we see."

"Well, I could use some adventure, so sure, why not?" Lane replied eagerly.

Rory stopped off at Weston's that evening before she picked up Lane to get them both a couple of large containers of coffee. Out of loyalty to Lorelai, she had no intention of stopping in at Luke's for the coffee. As far as she was concerned, Luke was no better than Logan. Sure, her mother had been dating another guy for three months, but she had just broken up with him. In both her and Lorelai's eyes, it was Luke's obligation to be there waiting dutifully for her mother in between her other relationships.

Lane was so anxious to get out for the evening, she was waiting on the curb for Rory to pick her up. Rory picked Lane up promptly at 7:00 and they were on their way to a sporadic, unplanned adventure.

Rory handed Lane her tall cup of coffee and started filling her in on the goings on from the night before. Lane immediately came to Rory's defense, backing her up at every comment from her side of the story.

"Paris said what?" Lane asked, incredulously and then added, "I cannot believe Shane and Lindsay, were at the Log Cabin, too. What nerve! Don't they know this is _your_ town?" Lane huffed indignantly.

"Oh, Lane," Rory sighed, "they're from Stars Hollow, too. The Log Cabin bar doesn't belong to me, but every single guy that I'd ever dated, or almost dated, was there last night with another girl. I guess if anything belonged to me, it was those guys. I just can't believe those bitches managed to snag them all up. I've half a mind to go back to Logan."

"Oh, no, Rory," Lane said supportively, "you're too good for that creep."

"You don't understand, Lane, me and my mother always go looking for our backup boyfriends after we breakup with a guy. Which reminds me, did you know Luke is back together with Nicole now? Me and my mom saw them together at the Log Cabin Pub last night."

"**NO!"** Lane exclaimed. "What did you mother do?"

"Well…she was going to call him on his cell phone while we were at the pub, but I stopped her."

"That was probably for the best," Lane commented.

"Yeah," Rory answered, only half paying attention, her mind was going a million miles a minute and it was hard for her to focus on anything. Neither she nor Lane had noticed they had just passed the sign that read "Welcome to Norwich," about a half mile back. She was beginning to feel like the ride out of town was a wasted trip; every bar she had passed so far was closed.

All of the sudden she happened to be inching closer to "Pete's Tavern" and saw that it was open and pulled into the parking lot.

"What d'ya think, Lane?" Rory asked, trying to be optimistic.

"Well, we can't be choosy. Looks like it's the only bar in town that's open tonight," Lane replied as she opened her car door and the two of them started walking toward the front door with no idea what was waiting for them on the other side.

Shane was the first to spot Rory and Lane walk in. She wasn't sure, but she was suspicious this was some sort of "payback" from Rory for the night before, which really pissed her off because she had certainly not planned on Rory showing up the Log Cabin Pub for New Year's Eve and didn't feel like she had done anything to her, even if she was out with Rory's ex-boyfriend.

Shane wondered if they were going to grab a table or sit at the bar. Once she knew they were going to the bar, she motioned for Lenny and explained to him that she did not want to wait on Rory and Lane and he gladly offered to assist the girls and give her a break from an uneasy situation. Shane was his best bartender and she more than worked her ass off and he knew she was not making this request to be lazy. Neither Rory nor Lane had spotted Shane or Lindsay and were oblivious to the switch.

"What can I do you ladies for?" Lenny asked as he approached Rory and Lane, holding back his amusement. He wasn't sure why Shane had wanted to avoid these two, but he was sure it must have been a doozy of a reason.

"I'll take a shot and a chaser," Rory replied and then they both looked at Lane.

"Er…I uh…I'll have the same," Lane answered, not even sure what she'd just ordered, she was barely past the sweet Sangria wine phase, having missed the drinking rituals that most high schoolers had already gone through, except for that one time at Kyle's keg party.

Lenny went about drawing the mugs of beer from the tap and poured two shot glasses of tequila for them. When his back was turned to them, while he was pouring the whiskey, he chuckled to himself. These two definitely did not fit the profile of women who ordered shots and chasers, he thought to himself. He knew instinctively, they'd be plastered in no time, plus it was still killing him why Shane had wanted to avoid them and he knew he'd be able to get it out of them once they started drinking, so he decided to give them a buy back after their first round.

"Ladies, you've been such good customers tonight, this round's on the house," he announced, setting their second round of beer and tequila on the bar.

"Thank you!" they both said graciously.

"So…you two don't strike me as the type of gals who usually order shots and chasers. I would have figured you two were a couple of Pink Lady drinkers. Did you need the hard stuff 'cause one of you girls just broke up with your boyfriend?" Lenny asked.

"Actually… Lenny," Rory replied, "as a matter of fact, _I _just did. How did you know? You are a very smart bartender and thank you again for treating me and my friend to this round."

"Sure, honey, no problem. I'm sorry to hear about you and your boyfriend. What happened?"

"Well…you see… there was this bitch named Lindsay who stole my boyfriend Logan, right before Christmas and then she stole Marty, who I was going to ask to be my boyfriend after the Winter Break at school was over and she took him, too. **I'd like to kick her ass, that's what I'd** **like to do!"** Rory screamed out loudly and boldly, unaware of her volume because she was starting to get drunk.

All of the sudden, she felt a series of sharp taps on her shoulder, and she turned to face both Lindsay and Shane.

"Be our guest," Shane said, looking straight into Rory's eyes, "we've been looking for a reason to open up a can of whup ass, it might as well be on you."

"I-I-I didn't mean it you guys, I was just blowing off a little steam," Rory responded in a very alarmed tone of voice.

"Oh, yeah, uh…she didn't mean it," Lane responded timidly, afraid the ass whipping was going extend to her, too, "that's just Rory's crazy sense of humor. On behalf of both of us, I sincerely offer our apologies."

"I think you ladies better leave before they do what they say they were gonna do," Lenny suggested softly. He was on Lindsay and Shane's side, but he wanted to protect them from any sort of fight. He'd sized up Rory and Lane and didn't think either one of them were worth Lindsay and Shane getting into trouble with the law over.

"Take a breather, girls," he ordered, as he poured them each a beer and asked them to tell him their side of the story. At least now his curiosity would be satisfied.

* * *

_**Somewhere out on Connecticut Route 2…**_

The beer and tequila shots were doing battle in Lane's tummy and she was started to feel very queasy from the motion of the car as they zoomed across the highway. She didn't want to see Rory have to pull off the side of the highway in the middle of the night, but she knew if she didn't, she was going to end throwing up in her car.

"Rory, I'm sorry, but could you please pull over? I don't feel so good…I think I'm going to throw up," Lane pleaded.

"Sure, Lane," Rory replied, patiently slowing down her Prius to pull over on the highway shoulder.

Just as she pulled off on to the shoulder, blue lights started flashing in her rear view mirror.

"Oh, shit! What now? I should have stayed home with my mother and watched Willie Wonka with her like she asked me to," Rory exclaimed, growing angrier by the second at the blaze of sapphire that was beaming into her car.

Lane turned and craned her neck. The approaching officer was absolutely gorgeous and looked nothing like the prototypical Connecticut highway patrol men. He had a build like a football player and stood about six feet, five and had hair that was dark and stylish, unlike most of his colleagues that sported haircuts that looked choppy and unappealing. Lane silently thought to herself that Rory could kill two birds with one stone by flirting with this guy. First, maybe she could talk herself out of whatever ticket he was about to write, and second, maybe she could score a date with this major babe! "Flirt with him, Rory," she whispered.

"Huh?" Rory said back, looking confused.

"I said flirt with him, damn it!" Lane said back louder, almost not whispering, and cussing out loud for probably the first time ever in her life. "And keep him busy while I'm throwing up, I don't want him to see me!"

"Uh…okay," Rory replied, her voice quavering. She was still unsure of her appeal to men because of losing Logan to Lindsay and doubted that the flirting would work, but what did she have to lose?

"Good evening, ma'am, is everything all right?" the very sexy officer asked Rory.

"Yes, sir," Rory replied, praying that he didn't smell the alcohol on her breath.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it, I just got a little concerned when I saw two unaccompanied young ladies pulling off to the side of road this time of night. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't having any problems with your car."

Just then, Lane crawled back into the car and leaned over to Rory and whispered a loud reminder in her ear, "Flirt with him!"

As Rory turned back to the officer to answer him, she flashed her trademark, waifish half-smile at him. It was the same smile she'd used to get Dean to ask her out and she used it on almost every other male in her life when she wanted them to do her bidding, except for Jess, who could see right through that smile for the b.s. gesture that it was.

"Oh, we're fine, Officer. We were at a restaurant over in Norwich and I think my friend got a hold of some food that made her sick, so I was just stopping for a few minutes 'til she felt better. Thank you so much for your concern, Officer. I um…."she hesitated, scanning her brain for something else to say, then proceeded, "I know it must be a very hard job, you have working on these highways at night. As a matter of fact, the Yale Newspaper wants me to do an interview on the struggles of law enforcement officials. I don't suppose you might be interested in doing the interview with me or know of someone else who would be?"

By now, the officer was becoming completely captivated with this seemingly innocent, child-woman creature. He loved her soft, girlish voice and her baby doll blue eyes. She had a way about her that made him feel like she was sincere and caring. Little did he know how much Rory was playing him with her well honed, helpless, naïve act. Sure he was "just" a police officer and not a college man like her grandparents expected her to date, but Rory'd had enough of trying to please them and besides, she needed sex and this guy looked like he'd be good at it.

"I'd be happy to do the interview," he responded. "By the way…you look familiar to me. Weren't you and your sister at the Log Cabin Pub last night?"

"Oh yes, I was there, but I wasn't with my sister. I was with my mother…Officer?"

"Officer Sarducci," he answered, turning his badge towards her.

"Okay, Officer Sarducci, well…uh…I can give you my number and then you can call me about doing the interview.

"Certainly, by all means, please give me your number. By the way, I don't think I caught your name?"

"It's Rory Gilmore and this is my friend, Lane."

"Nice to meet you both. My first name is Al."

"Very nice to meet you, Al," Rory responded, "well, I guess I'd better get Lane home since she's not feeling well. Oh… and here's my number," she said, as she tore off a piece of paper from the bag she'd gotten the coffee in at Weston's bakery and then wrote the number down on it and handed it to him.

"Thanks, Rory. I'll call you soon."

"Thanks, Al," Rory replied.

Al liked hearing Rory say his first name and made a note to call her up and ask her out for the weekend. He couldn't wait to spend more time with this woman, who had the face of an angel and a body to kill. He got back into the car and called up his friend, Craig, on his cell phone to tell him all about it.

* * *

_**Back at Pete's Tavern…**_

"Boy you two made my night. When you told that girl you were going to open a can of whup ass, I thought I was going to lose it," Lenny said, still chuckling about the earlier incident.

"Glad we could entertain you, Lenny," Shane remarked dryly, finally calming down.

A few minutes later, Ida came in with her husband. She had the night off, but just like Shane and Lindsay, she also liked hanging out at the bar on her days off sometimes. She saw Lenny, Lindsay, and Shane in a huddle and wondered what was going on.

After Lenny volunteered to tell the story and Ida listened, she rose up, incensed that Lenny had stopped the girls from whipping Rory's ass.

"You mean to tell me that home wrecker came in here talking trash about Lindsay, saying she wished she could kick Lindsay's ass and you just let her walk out of here just as happy as you please, Lenny?" Ida said angrily.

"Settle down, Ida," Lenny said, as he handed her a glass of her usually requested Cabernet Sauvignon. "I couldn't have these girls getting into trouble with the cops. As bad as that other girl was and as much as she deserved it, she's just not worth the trouble," Lenny replied rationally.

"Worth it, not worth it…It's a good thing I wasn't here, I would have walloped the hell out of her," Ida declared.

Lindsay and Shane started laughing and then eventually so did Lenny.

"Thanks for sticking up for us, Ida, and Happy New Year," Shane said warmly, as she hugged her.

"Now that we got that all hashed out, let's talk about you and Lindsay's love life. How did your dates go last night?" Ida asked.

"Ida, these ladies gotta get back to work, someone has to wait on the customers tonight," Lenny interjected.

"Oh please, Lenny, this place is a morgue tonight. Who goes out the night after New Year's Eve? They got time to tell me and _then _they can get back to work," Ida insisted.

"Have it your way," Lenny said, sighing and pretending to be annoyed as he threw up his hands, "after all, you're the boss."

"That's right and don't you forget it, handsome," Ida teased as she downed a large sip of wine and motioned to the girls to start telling her their story about their dates with Dean and Marty.

After the girls excitedly told Ida all about their dates, Ida finished up her glass of wine and her husband, Sidney, downed his mug of beer, and they announced they were calling it a night. On their way out, Ida gave Lindsay's hand a squeeze and whispered to her, "I'm glad you're finally getting it that you're really beautiful, honey. And I meant what I said…if I'd been here tonight when that piece of work walked in here that wrecked your marriage, I would have mopped the floor with her face. You're a real nice girl, Lindsay, and you don't deserve anybody treatin' you like that."

"Oh, thank you, Ida," Lindsay said, hugging her warmly, as her eyes misted up. "Coming from you that means a whole lot."

"You betcha, honey," Ida said, getting teary-eyed herself. "Goodnight everybody!" she called out as she and Sidney started going out through the front door of the tavern.

"Well, Ida is right," Shane declared, "this place is a morgue tonight. Are you closing up early, Lenny?"

"That's probably a good idea. Why don't you girls go ahead and pack it in? I can handle it from here."

"Thanks, Lenny," they both said at once, neither one of them had quite recovered from their hangovers and now the effects from the Bloody Marys were starting to kick in.

On their way home, they stopped off to pick up a large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese from Papa Gino's.

When they got home, there were 2 messages on their answering machine: one from Marty and the other from Dean.

As they sat devouring slice after slice of the pepperoni pizza, they played their messages over and over again:

_Hi Shane , this is Dean, I had a really great time last night. Please tell your mom thanks again for me for letting me stay over. Hey, I wondered if you were free this Saturday, if you'd like to grab some seafood over at Max's Oyster Bar in Hartford. Give me a call when you have a minute. Miss ya!_

Then there was Marty's message:

_Hi sweetie, it's Marty. I really had a good time last night and I already miss you. Hey listen, I'm not due back at Yale until January 8__th__, and I got a lot of free time on my hands and I was wondering if maybe you might want to come see me and my mom at her place up in Albany? I could pick you up after work on Friday night and then I could bring you back on Sunday morning since you won't have to be to work until Sunday afternoon. Well, you might already have other plans, but if you do I understand since this is kind of short notice. Anyway, I hope to hear back from you soon. I'm really missing you, babe…"_

As they both got down to their last slices, they were still alternately playing Dean and Marty's messages.

"Oh this is ridiculous," Shane declared, picking a round of pepperoni off her pizza and shoving it in her mouth before she continued talking, "let's just call these guys and get it over with. You gonna go to Albany with Marty?"

"How can you even ask such a question, Shane?" Lindsay said incredulously. "Of course I am!"

"Well….okay…as long as you don't care if Marty thinks you're too easy," Shane teased, winking at Lindsay.

"Oh please," Lindsay replied, picking off a round of pepperoni from _her_ pizza slice and throwing it at Shane, "he's inviting me to his mother's house, not the honeymoon suite at the Foxwoods Casino."

"Wow, watch what you say, Linds, that _could _happen one of these days," Shane replied, momentarily thinking ahead to the probable day when Lindsay and Marty would be getting married and wondering if that would ever come true for her and Dean.

"That comment just made me very nervous," Lindsay replied. "You go call Dean back first. I'm not quite ready to speak to Marty. I think I'll just watch the news for a couple of minutes until you're done on the phone with Dean."

Lindsay went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of beer and nestled herself under a lavender throw to keep herself warm while she lay down on the sofa to watch the evening local news. Shane was happily chattering away in the kitchen and then, after about fifteen commercials played and Lindsay suffered through the station's corny news jingle, the anchor broke into the top news story of the night.

_Good Evening and Happy New Year to All Our Viewers. We open our broadcast tonight with this late breaking news development._

_The Connecticut District Attorney's office has just informed us that a settlement has been reached in the case of Yale Students, 22 year old Colin McCrae and 23 year old Finn Sheen, for their involvement in the hit and run accident that took place on November 28th of this year in Stars Hollow, in which 22 year old, Stars Hollow resident, Dean Forester was severely injured. In addition to the other crimes they allegedly committed, Colin McCrae and Finn Sheen have also been charged with falsely accusing Logan Huntzberger, heir to the Huntzberger Publishing empire, of the hit and run accident. The settlement, reached today between the District Attorney's office and the defendant's attorneys, was for a sentence of six months for both Sheen and McCrae. Charges include obstruction of justice, defamation of character, false accusations, committing a hit and run, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, and intent to injure. After their sentences have been served, Colin McCrae will be placed on 3 years probation and Finn Sheen will be deported back to his native Australia. _

Hearing all this news suddenly made Lindsay very glad that Marty had invited her out of town for a couple of days. Even though her involvement in the matter had already ended, she just knew she needed to get away. She'd been to Albany years ago as a child and had remembered Upstate New York being a pleasant enough place to visit. She would gladly accept Marty's invitation. She just hoped his mother would find her an acceptable choice for her son. She still hadn't gotten around to telling Marty that she was on the outs with her own mother.

About a half-later, Shane came bounding back into the living room, smiling from ear to ear and announced, "Your turns, Linds," she said as she handed her the cordless phone.

"Thanks," Lindsay replied, gratefully accepting the phone.

"Still nervous?" Shane asked playfully.

"Not anymore," Lindsay answered truthfully. "By the way, make sure you have the keep the news on during the last ten minutes of the broadcast for the 'News Roundup' segment," Lindsay instructed.

"Why?" Shane asked curiously.

"Oh…you'll see," Lindsay replied, knowing that the announcement about Colin and Finn would reappear during this segment, which always re-highlighted the top news items of the day.

"Okay," Shane shrugged, "I'll watch the cooking channel for twenty minutes and then I'll switch it back."

Marty instantly recognized Lindsay's phone number and picked up her call after only one ring.

"Lindsay! Good to hear from you, baby! Have you had a chance to think about coming to Albany with me this weekend?"

"Oh, yes, Marty, I would like to come to Albany this weekend with you," Lindsay agreed, trying to remain low key on the phone so Marty wouldn't detect just HOW much she wanted to go Albany with him.

"That's great, just great!" Marty said enthusiastically. "I just know my mother is going to love meeting you. "

"I'm looking forward to meeting her,too" Lindsay replied, half-lyingly. Yes, she wanted to be in the good graces of his mother, but _getting_ into her good graces might not be all that easy if she was the type of mother who didn't want to share her son with another woman. "Is there anything you'd like me to bring?"

"Just yourself, beautiful," Marty purred sexily into the phone and all of the sudden Lindsay realized she'd set herself up for that one because that's the same answer she'd given Marty when he'd asked her that question about bring something to dinner at her apartment.

"Well, that's easy enough to do," Lindsay replied. "I'll see you Friday night at Pete's then," she replied. "Bye, Marty!"

"Bye, baby! Have a great night and I'll see ya then."

"Uh-huh. You too sweetie," she answered back before she hung up the phone and then she walked back into the living room to rejoin Shane.

"Well, well, well…I see Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dum are going away to be serving time in the pokey for six more months and then they'll be sending Mr. Sheen back to the land down under," Shane noted. "I wonder how the heir to the Huntzberger Publishing empire is occupying himself these days, now that his back-stabbing friends are sitting in prison and little Miss Rory has given him the boot?"

"Trust me, he'll be fine," Lindsay replied. "A fool and his money are never lonely."

Shane looked at Lindsay, shook her head and laughed, "Did you just make that up, Linds?"

"Yep."

"That wasn't half bad," Shane commented admiringly. "Well, I think I'll hit the sack. See ya in the morning, Linds."

"Good night, Shane," Lindsay replied.

The next few days came and went quickly. Before Lindsay knew it, it was Friday night and Marty was showing up at Pete's to whisk her away to Albany.

The drive to Albany from Norwich was two hours and forty-five minutes. They did not arrive at Marty's house until about two o'clock in the morning. Even though they were arriving so incredibly late at night, Marty's mother was up to greet them and gave them each a cup of herbal tea and a freshly baked macaroon cookie. She said they would sleep better if they had a little something in their stomachs.

Lindsay peered around the house admiringly. The house had a very traditional, old world feel to it. The wooden floors were stained with a rich, cherry wood color. The walls were a soft, egg shell white and held paintings of flowered landscapes, Van Gogh reproductions, and charming brass sconces. The furniture in the living room was mostly antiques. There was a very cool, emerald green art deco sofa in the main part of the living room, a rose colored Queen-Anne chair in the corner and an impressive mahogany, roll-top writing desk against the wall, near the entrance to the foyer.

Then Lindsay shifted her attention to Marty's mother, Victoria. Lindsay had been impressed that Victoria had so graciously greeted them, even though their arrival had been so incredibly late. Victoria was a beautiful woman, despite being in her mid-fifties, she had an incredibly youthful face and a very trim figure. Had she not let herself go naturally gray, she could have been easily mistaken for someone in her mid thirties and not someone in her mid fifties.

On the drive to Albany, Marty had explained that his mother was originally from Tennessee, but had moved to Albany twenty five years earlier after coming to upstate New York to study the geological formations of the various caves around the area. She was supposed to return to Tennessee, but fell in love with Upstate New York and ended up moving there. Since then, she had continued to pursue her studies, earning a doctorate in Geology and was a professor with the Geological Sciences Program at the University of Albany. Lindsay had breathed a sigh of relief to discover Victoria and she shared a common interest in teaching. She also wondered if the reason Victoria was a bit nicer than most people she met had to do with her Southern roots, perhaps that explained some of Marty's sweetness, too.

Victoria showed Lindsay to the guestroom, that was every bit as quaint and cozy as she expected it to be. The walls were adorned with yellow rose wall paper and the centerpiece of the room was a grand, dark oak sleigh bed, spread with a creamy lemon quilt and opposite the bed, perched atop a plush buttery colored chair, was a tangerine striped tabby, contentedly napping like a baby. Victoria gently kidded Lindsay that this room was a perfect room for a pretty blonde like her with all its tones of golds and yellows. She pointed to an extra blanket at the foot of the bed she could use, should it get cooler during the night, and showed her where the restroom was down the hallway. Then she wished her a good night and promised her that they'd be having a hearty, delicious breakfast in the morning.

True to Victoria's promise from the night before, breakfast was a delectable feast. She'd prepared fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy maple-flavored bacon, cheddary grits, and a basket of cranberry scones, with lots of strong coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice. Lindsay savored the meal, she'd been eating mostly cornflakes or doughnuts for breakfast for months now and a hot, homemade breakfast really hit the spot.

While they ate, Marty discussed his and Lindsay's plan for the day.

"So Lindsay, how'd you like to go skiing today? There's a great place over on Hunter Mountain. I think you'd really like it," Marty commented.

"It sounds, fun…but…"

"Yes?" he asked expectantly.

"I've never skied before, Marty. I mean I've always wanted to, but I don't want to hold you back. You're probably practically a pro at it," Lindsay replied.

"Oh, don't you worry, honey," Victoria interjected, a small bit of her Southerness shining through her voice, "Marty has the patience of Job when it comes to teaching people how to ski. He even taught me to ski. You should give it a try, they have skis over there you can rent, a beginner's hill and if you find out you absolutely hate it, the two of you can hang out by the fire at the lodge and drink a couple of hot toddies, I'm sure Marty wouldn't mind doing that either."

"Well, I wasn't sure if I should try, but you just convinced me, Victoria. Thank you!"

"That's wonderful, honey, I know you two are going to have a great time today," she beamed, glad to see her Marty with a special girl like Lindsay. It had broken her heart all those years Marty had pined for Rory at Yale and it meant a lot to her to finally see Marty with a girl that seemed to be as taken with him as much as Marty was taken with her.

When they arrived at the Hunter Mountain ski resort, they stopped at the rental shop, and then took the "Pony" ski lift to a small hill where beginning skiers congregated. He patiently showed Lindsay the correct way to hold her ski poles and then explained the proper placement of her feet, shoulders and how to distribute her weight. Next, he reviewed controlling the speed and stopping. Once she seemed to feel comfortable with his instructions and demonstrations, he gave her a gentle push from the top of the hill and cheered her progress on. Lindsay was a natural born athlete and took to beginning skiing in no time. Marty knew, with not too many lessons, she could catch up with him and they'd have a hobby they'd be able to share and enjoy together for years (or at least he hoped it would be years).

Not wanting to push her too much on her first day, he suggested they switch gears and go try out the resort's Snow Tubing park. While sitting on a doughnut shaped tube required virtually no skill, the experience was in some ways scarier than skiing. Once you got going down the slope on the inner tube, the tube felt like it was flying down the slope at a hundred miles an hour and at some point the tube would start spinning like a top, making control of it seem virtually impossible, but Lindsay had a sense of adventure and enjoyed it, nevertheless. On her final time down the slope, she ended up flipping over towards the end and going into a somersault with snow flying all around her and getting into her hair. She took it in stride though and started laughing up a storm as she surrendered and lay there in the snow for a few moments. Marty came over and helped her up, beaming at her, still in awe of a goddess who could laugh at her own flaws and not expect the world to think she was little miss perfect, 24/7.

On the way back to his house that evening, they stopped off at a very fashionable restaurant called _Venice in the Alps, _so named because it was an Italian restaurant in the Catskill Mountains.

This time it was Lindsay's turn to be surprised by what was on the other side of the door. It turned out that Al Sarducci's cousin, Angela, owned the restaurant and he had taken Rory there on their date to impress her. He normally didn't have the funds to take women out to a place like this, but on the rare occasion when he felt the need to really impress a woman, his cousin Angela was willing to oblige him. Knowing that Rory was a Yale student seemed like a sufficient enough reason to impress her, so he'd made the call to Angela and now they were sitting there drinking a bottle of Chardonnay to celebrate their first date together.

Al was the first one to notice anyone and he called Lindsay over to say hello to her.

"We can leave," Marty said in a loud whisper to Lindsay. He had specifically taken her to a classy restaurant like this so they could have quiet and privacy. He really wasn't in the mood to either entertain or possibly even get into a fight with another couple.

"It's okay, Marty, I can handle it", Lindsay replied, totally not getting his drift, thinking he was concerned about her encounter with Rory**, **"I'm an adult now, I don't need to scamper off like a frightened mouse when the least little scary thing pops up in front of me."

"Hi, Al!" Lindsay greeted, skipping over Rory, "I think you remember Marty, my date, from the New Year's Eve party at the Log Cabin," she said motioning in Marty's direction.

"Oh, yeah, I remember meeting Marty. How ya doing?" Al said, extending his hand to Marty.

"Pretty good, Al," he said as he shook hands with him. At this point, he thought it'd look pretty ridiculous to ignore Rory since they went to school together and had been friends off and on. "Hey, Rory, how ya doing tonight?" he greeted, trying to be warm, but not too warm.

"I'm doing well, Marty," Rory replied, seeming genuinely happy. "So how are you and Lindsay this evening?" she asked, perplexing the hell out of Lindsay at first with her unselfishly friendly greeting, then Lindsay noticed that Rory truly did seem happy. In fact, she even looked much happier than she did that day her and Logan had been together at the Stars Holloween Festival. Maybe a guy like Al is what Rory needed, Lindsay thought.

All of the sudden though, Rory's happiness was shattered when out of the blue the voice of a very high bred woman carried through the restaurant.

"Oh, Richard," Emily chirped, "see, I told you what a wonderful place this restaurant would be. It always gets very high marks from the restaurant review section of the _Hartford Courant_ and I heard only the skiers from the wealthiest resorts dine here. I can't wait to see what they have on their menu, I want to…Why look, Richard, there's Rory and she's with another man who _isn't _Logan. She must have found an even more impressive specimen of a man to court her from Yale. I wonder which Captain of Industry _he_ is the son of?" Emily mused hopefully, she was totally unaware of the reason Rory was no longer with Logan, plus she figured Rory's date _must_ be wealthy if he could "afford" to take her to such an elegant restaurant such as _Venice of the Alps_.

"Grandma!" Rory cried out, now totally shaken from her joyful mood, she knew the shit was about to hit the fan when Emily and Richard found out that her date was a Connecticut Highway patrol man and not an ivy league suck-up.

"Rory, please introduce us to your gentleman friend," Emily insisted.

"Grandma, Grandpa, this is Al Sarducci," Rory introduced.

Emily winced at the sound of his non-waspish sounding name – and Italian at that. The last time Rory had dated an Italian – Jess Mariano – it had been a disaster and here she was, going down the same path again, she thought pretentiously.

"Well, hello," Emily greeted, trying to contain herself about the fact that this man's name ended in a vowel. "So," she continued aloofly, "what are _you _studying at Yale, young man?" Emily asked, at least expecting he'd meet _those_ standards.

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am. Actually I don't go to Yale. I'm a patrol man for the Connecticut Highway Patrol," he answered honestly.

"Rory, your grandfather and I are leaving now. I suggest you come with us," Emily demanded.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Grandma. In case you haven't figured it out, Al and I are here on a date," Rory insisted.

"Rory, you **WILL** come with us now," Emily insisted. "We did not invest good money towards your education to have you traipsing around with a commoner who barely finished high school," she decreed with a stuck-up disregard for Al's feelings. It reminded Rory of the time that her grandfather had mercilessly humiliated Dean in front of everybody at one of their stupid Friday night dinners. What a mistake that was, to invite him over and at the time she'd been so proud to have a nice guy like Dean to show off to her grandparents, only to have them try and crush his spirit, the same way they'd always tried to crush her mother's spirit.

"Excuse me, lady; I am not a mere, blue-collar, almost high school dropout. I was an officer in the United States Air Force before I started with the patrol and I'm currently working on my Masters in Criminal Justice at the University of Hartford and then I plan to go on and secure a respectable position with the FBI."

"Oh…please, a school like that can't begin to compare to Yale or Harvard," Emily snapped back, sounding utterly impressed.

"Lady, what are you afraid of, that I might be after your family jewels or something? Come on, Rory, let's get out of here," he suggested, extending his hand, which Rory accepted immediately.

"Rory, this is not the end of this," Emily called after her, "Richard, get the maître d', whenever I get upset like this, my blood sugar gets low. Have him bring us the menus right away," she instructed.

"Richard, don't waste your time," Al called after him. "My cousin Angela is the proprietor of this establishment and she will be sending the bouncer over to escort you out of her establishment shortly because she already knows what a stuck-up bitch your wife is and she reserves the right not to serve stuck-up bitches."

Emily and Richard promptly turned on their heels and left. This was war and Emily was going to do use whatever weapons she had in her financial arsenal and social standing to destroy Al. This wasn't over by a long shot.

For the first time ever, Lindsay felt a tinge of sympathy for Rory. Her whole, self-centered persona was starting to make sense to her. What else could she have turned out like with these two evil people constantly waving their money over her head to control her? She actually admired Rory for getting up and leaving with Al. She just hoped Rory had _finally_ learned her life lesson and wasn't going to mess with her buddy Al's head, although she did seem deeply and sincerely happy with him, so maybe _this _time she'd behave herself.

Marty breathed a sigh of relief that all of them were gone. Now he could have a quiet, intimate conversation with Lindsay – or at least so he thought.

After the maître d' sat Lindsay and Marty, Al's cousin, Angela, came over to say hello and to welcome them to the restaurant, noticing that Al had been friendly towards Lindsay and Marty. She asked the maître d' to bring them a complimentary bottle of Chablis and spoke to them for a few minutes. After she disappeared, Marty seized the opportunity to speak to Lindsay privately, before something else disrupted them.

"Lindsay, honey, I think I'm falling in love with you," he told her as he toasted her with a glass of the Chablis.

"I think I'm falling in with you, too, baby," Lindsay replied as she clinked glasses with him.

The waitress appeared to take their order and they each ordered the veal piccata and shared an antipasto appetizer.

As they walked out to the parking lot, they both glanced up and saw a romantic golden moon glowing in the sky. Marty gave Lindsay a long kiss before they climbed into his car and drove back to his mother's house.

Once again, Victoria was waiting up for them. This time, she had a treat of hot chocolate and homemade banana bread to serve them.

She brought the treats out to the coffee table and asked to hear how their ski outing went and then embarrassed Marty by showing Lindsay his childhood and baby pictures.

As Lindsay was turning in for the evening, she found a lovely piece of stationery resting on her pillow. She leaned down to retrieve the piece of paper and saw that it was a handwritten poem from Marty and started to read it.

_Lindsay,_

_The world is a beautiful place_

_Its beauty is meant to be shared._

_I have never shared this beauty_

_and for this I am a lesser man._

_I want to share the world with you_

_With you I will be complete._

_Share the world with me_

_I will always faithfully be by your side._

_Love,  
Marty_

Lindsay smiled and read the poem at least a dozen more times before safely tucking it into her overnight bag. She would hold onto his poem as a treasured keepsake and if they should ever marry, she'd ask him to recite it for their wedding vows.

* * *

_**Meanwhile, Back in Connecticut…**_

Dean and Shane had stopped off at the Log Cabin before heading over to _Max's Oyster_ Bar in Hartford so they were having a late dinner that night. As Dean and Shane were seated, Shane couldn't resist the urge to tease Dean.

"So Dean, are you trying to throw me a hint?" Shane asked.

"What?" he asked, his eyes sparkling, knowing another chuckle was right around the corner.

"Well…you take me to a place called 'Max's Oyster Bar,' and they say oysters are an aphrodisiac. I'm just wondering is all…" she laughed.

"Shane, when the time is ready, I definitely won't beat around the bush, you'll know when that time is and neither one of us are going to need an aphrodisiac," he said bluntly.

"So when do you think that'll be, Dean?" Shane said, playing him back, figuring he'd back down from his boldness.

"The doctor says everything should be good to go in six weeks," Dean replied, calling Shane's bluff.

"Well, I guess you better think of a place for us to get busy then," Shane said back, still playing with him.

"I already have," Dean replied, shocking her.

"Where?" she said, not expecting that answer.

"It's a surprise, Valentine's Day is right around then and I intend to make it the best Valentine's Day you've ever had," Dean answered, giving her a sexy stare.

"Woo! Hoo!" Shane replied. "Guess I'd better start filling up on them oysters then," she teased. She was definitely attracted to Dean and liked to kid him with a lot of innuendos about making out, but she wasn't quite sure if she was as ready as Lindsay was to take their relationship to the next level just yet. She'd see how she felt in six weeks.

* * *

_**Sunday …**_

As promised by Marty, Lindsay arrived back in Norwich late Sunday morning. Lindsay noticed Shane had left her mail on the kitchen counter from when she'd checked it on Saturday afternoon. Most of it was junk mail, but included in all the piles of coupons and insurance advertisements, was an official copy of the baby shower invitation for Paris' baby shower that Nicole had invited her and Shane to on New Year's day. The date for the shower had been set for January 15th at 3:00 p.m. in a private room at a very exclusive restaurant called _Le Bec Fin_ in Philadelphia. Since it was being held at such an upscale location, Lindsay wondered what the expectations were for buying gifts, then her question was answered when a slip of paper fell out of the invitation that said, "This couple has requested their baby registry at Neiman Marcus."

The world is full of princesses," Lindsay said as she rolled her eyes and flashed the Neiman Marcus baby registry card in Shane's direction.

"Yeah, well…I'd say someday we deserve to be princesses, too, so Dean and Marty better be prepared to make a lot of money," Shane replied, jokingly. "Tell me about your weekend, girlfriend."

Lindsay reached into her overnight bag and showed her the poem Marty wrote for her.

"Be careful, Linds, I think this guy's falling really hard for you," Shane commented.

"Be careful yourself, Shane, I have feeling Dean is falling just as hard for you," Lindsay replied.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	13. Chapter 13

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Thirteen

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Lorelai, Dean, Logan, Marty, Jess, Paris, and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

**Welcome Back to the Story Everyone. Hope you had a nice Christmas and New Year's and here's wishing you all well with the fulfillment of your New Year's resolutions.**

* * *

**THE LOG CABIN PUB**

"Linds, do you realize it is only ten days to that baby shower?"

"I was robbed Shane, I had it all figured out, and then Marty, bless his sexy heart, invites me to Albany."

"So Linds, what is the problem with that, you told me you had a great time."

Lindsay hesitated, and then blushed, "If you remembered originally I was going to have Marty over for dinner last Saturday while you were in Stars Hollow."

"So? You had a wonderful time in New York, with him."

"In separate bedrooms Shane, I want to get him alone. I want him all to myself, Shane. I am tired of taking the proverbial cold shower. I have been doing that for over three years. Shane, every time he touches me I almost lose it."

Shane gazed at Lindsay, "So I think you want to get naked with Marty?"

Lindsay turned scarlet, and with a soft meek voice answered, "Yes."

"Come on, Linds, let's go to Stars Hollow, neither one of us has school or is working tomorrow."

"I called my mom, Linds, and I told her we will be in later tonight, so let's get into your trusted old truck and go."

"Shane, that is all good, but what are we going to do about our Neiman Marcus gifts? They no longer have a store in Connecticut."

"Did you find out where the closest store is or can we order online?"

"I'd rather not order online, something could go wrong. Look there are stores in Boston, New York City, White Plains New York and Natick Mass, I suggest we go to White Plains."

"White Plains isn't far, let's figure out when we can go and shop there, Linds, maybe we can bring the guys with us."

Lindsay made the sharp turn onto the road leading to Stars Hollow, "You know, Shane, that is not a bad idea. We'll have to take one of their cars since we all can not fit into this truck.

"Well, girlfriend, Dean has a good sized Yukon, one of us will have to drive, but I am sure he won't mind. I think he is getting stir crazy anyway."

"So Shane, why are we going to the Log Cabin Pub again?"

"Come on Linds, does there have to be a reason? School is out."

"Yeah, yeah, Shane, and maybe your boyfriend lives a few blocks away."

"Well," Shane said with her best innocent look, "that is a remarkable coincidence, I never would have thought of that unless you mentioned it. Thanks."

Lindsay laughed, "So you're going to dump me off at the pub when you go see him?"

"Come on, Linds, I am just going to pick him up and it isn't like you don't know anyone there."

"Lady, you owe me."

They arrived at the Log Cabin Pub, Lindsay got out and Shane slid over and pulled up the bench seat so she could reach the pedals. "Man, you're tall. I'll see you in about twenty minutes."

Lindsay walked into the cozy confines of the Log Cabin Pub, and noticed that it was fairly busy, but there was a spot at the bar and Rose was working. She slid into a seat by the waitress station.

Rose walked over, "So where is your twin?"

"Hey Rose, she is going to go see if Dean can come out and play. For some unknown reason, I have a feeling if no one is home but Dean, it may be later then sooner."

Rose laughed, "So where is _your_ cutie pie?

"New Haven," Lindsay said wistfully. "This is a spur of the moment trip."

"Beer as usual?"

"Sure Rose."

Lindsay turned in her stool and surveyed the room to see who was there that she knew. Lindsay did not feel like sitting around by herself. She knew if Dean was alone, Shane would sit around and talk to him, "Yeah right," she said to herself with a laugh. _Ah good, there is Al sitting by_ _himself at a table, I'll go and join him_. Lindsay grabbed her beer and walked over behind Al and kissed his cheek from behind, "Guess who, handsome?"

Without turning, Al said "Judging from the fragrance of your seedy smelling perfume, it must be Miss Patty," he said and laughed.

"Oh gross, dude," Lindsay remarked and grabbed a chair and sat down. She then noticed Rory Gilmore standing there in her coat.

Rory shook her head, "Lindsay, you got even. Are you going to go after every man I date now? We ran into you at that restaurant, you have to know we are going out." Rory turned and started to walk out the door. To Lindsay's surprise, Al got up and went after her.

Al returned holding Rory's hand and pulled out a chair for her. "Look, Lindsay, I know there is bad blood between the two of you. I am your friend, Lindsay, but Rory is my girlfriend. Please don't make me choose."

"No, I won't Al, please excuse me," Lindsay replied and stood up. "I am sure you two would like to be alone," she said as she walked back to the bar. "Rose, I knew they went out on a date, but when did it get this serious?"

"Who Lindsay?"

"Al and Rory, Rose," she replied as she pointed to them.

"Lindsay, they are together in here every night, mostly just to have a beer and a sandwich." Rose put her hand on Lindsay's arm. "Lindsay, she is good for him. I have not seen him this happy in years. If you're Al's friend, support the relationship. She has changed also. He is good for her."

"Rose, what does his friend Craig say?

"Craig is all for it Lindsay, I don't think the girl Al dated occasionally is too happy about it, but there was no romance and fire there, not like Al and Rory have."

Lindsay looked over at the table again. She could see they were obviously into each other. She was not going to stop being Al's friend on account of Rory. She just wondered if she could sit at the same table with them. Lindsay looked at the clock over the bar. It had been about forty minutes since Shane drove the five minutes to Dean's house. Lindsay picked up her cell phone and dialed Shane's number. After several rings, Shane picked up. "What do you need, Lindsay, it has only been ten minutes"

Lindsay laughed, she could not ever be mad at Shane. "Try again Shane, and hey, if I made you a bet that you most likely had on less than two pieces of clothing I would win."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Linds," Shane replied and hung up.

Lindsay spotted a couple of girls she went to high school with at a table, and decided to go join them.

Shane and Dean finally came in, Dean was still on crutches. Shane looked around for Lindsay and finally spotted her chatting away with some girls from high school. Shane also saw Al and Rory sitting at a table. Shane wondered what was going on there. "Dean, let's grab this table by the wall so you can get stretch your leg out and not get trampled. I am going to fetch Lindsay." Dean sat down with a sigh and stretched his bad leg out. He was getting tired of walking around on crutches, but his body was healing.

Shane walked over to where Lindsay was sitting, "Hey Linds, we got a table by the wall." Shane also greeted the other girls. They ran more in Lindsay's circle, so she did not know them real well. A girl named Sue looked up at Shane, "Aren't you dating Lindsay's ex?"

Shane started to say yes, but was cut off by Lindsay. "Sue it is all good, Dean and I have made our peace. We get along fine now, and I could not be happier that he is dating my best friend."

* * *

**AL'S DEFENSE OF RORY**

Lindsay felt someone tapping on her shoulder. She turned and there was Al. "Lindsay, do you think you could make peace with someone else?"

"What do you mean, Al?"

"You know what I mean Lindsay, you too, Shane."

Lindsay excused herself from her high school friends and walked to the table that Dean was sitting at. Dean was bored and was playing little games with swizzle sticks. They all pulled up chairs and Al was invited to join them.

Over the din of the music Lindsay shouted "Al, where did your date go?"

"I sent her home. I wanted to talk to you and Shane. Can't we move? We are too close to the speakers."

"Wait a minute guys," Shane got up and walked to the bar and spoke to Rose and the speaker above their table went off. "Al, I have to keep Dean away from people in case one of them hits his leg. So Rose had no problem shutting off the speaker above us. So what's up, Al?"

Al looked around the table. "Look, all three of you have a legitimate grudge against Rory. To make a long story short, I have started to date her and I like her a lot."

"Yeah Al, so did I and look what she did to me twice," Dean interjected skeptically.

"I know, Dean, all I am asking is for the three of you to hear me out. I am friends with all of you and I like being friends with you, but if I have to choose between Rory and you guys, she is going to win. I don't want to choose."

Dean interrupted, "Al it sounds like you're in love with her, and I can tell you from personal experience that is a dangerous place to be."

"Maybe so, Dean, but please hear me out."

"Lindsay, I know what you started to do, and I know that you could not go through with it, but I don't think you understand how much damage you did to her."

"So what, Al? What about the damage she did to me? She hurt everyone at this table, Al. I think it is a miracle that my ex-husband and I can be civil to each other, let alone like each other, and I do like him and that is a miracle."

"Lindsay, let me finish. Your plan, even though you stopped, took on a life of its own and you got exactly what you wanted. You broke her."

Lindsay jumped up, "So what Al? I am going to the bar." With that said Lindsay turned and walked to the bar without looking back.

Al turned to go get her...

"Leave it be Al, I'll talk to her later, she is upset, go ahead and talk to us," Shane ordered.

"Okay, Shane, look, Lindsay did a number on her, and I am not blaming Lindsay. I can understand what she did. What I am trying to tell you is that Rory is a different person now. She was never a bad person and is actually by nature a very sweet girl. She was never denied anything. It was like a tug of war between her grandparents and her mother. She became very self centered because she was the center of attention at all times. When she went after Jess, Shane, she did not realize that she could be hurting another human being. In her world, if she wanted it she got it. I met her on her way back from Norwich after I believe a confrontation with you. Her friend Lane was sick, and I pulled over to see if they were okay. To make a long story short, we started dating to the horror of her high and mighty grandparents. As you know, I am a trooper, and I am also eleven years older than Rory. Her grandparents went nuts over that information. All of a sudden she was getting yelled at by them and threatened by them. They've also been constantly calling her mother, Lorelai, and trying to get her to tell Rory that I'm not good enough for her. Couple that with all the damage from that trial, finding out a guy she thought she loved was a two timer, put her pretty close to the edge. I just happened to be there to pick up the pieces and by doing that, I fell in love with her. Call me stupid, but there it is. By the way when she isn't at Yale she stays with me now. I think once we both get our masters degrees, we're going to take the next step and make our relationship official. I know you are all going to be attending a baby shower with her. She is the expectant mother's best friend. I saw Nicole Leahy in court the other day and she is going to drive you, Lindsay, and Rory to Philadelphia. So there it is guys, Shane I hope you can convince Lindsay."

* * *

**LINDSAY IS A GENTLE SOUL**

It was very quiet at the table now. Al, Dean and Shane were all lost in their thoughts. Finally Dean spoke up, "Shane, I think I should be the one to talk to Lindsay."

Shane looked over to Al, "Al, could you please excuse us? I have to talk to my boyfriend."

Al slid his chair back. "Of course, Shane."

Shane waited till Al was gone. She took Dean's hands into hers. "Dean, this really sucks. I hope I don't have to make a choice between my best friend and you."

Dean squeezed her hands "I understand, Shane, I will call a cab and go."

"No, no, Dean, don't go anywhere, I am already imagining you as my children's daddy."

"Shane, part of what is bothering Lindsay is guilt, by facing Rory she really has to admit to herself what she did was no better than what Rory did to her. Shane, you probably already know this, but Lindsay is a pure innocent gentle soul who needs, and deserves, someone like Marty, who will put her up on a pedestal. I think if he was here now, she would not have gotten so upset."

"Dean, you know, Lindsay and I were talking about taking a trip to White Plains, New York to shop at a Nieman Marcus. We discussed asking you guys to come along and we were also thinking of making this an overnight trip. We do need to take your Yukon. What do you think, Dean?"

"Did you ask Marty yet?"

"No, but I am sure he will go."

"Shane, bring Lindsay back please."

Shane rose from the table and went to Lindsay at the bar and spoke to her for a few minutes. Lindsay and her walked back and sat.

"Lindsay, I, of all people, know how you felt when Rory and I had an affair. I regret that every day. I am totally amazed that you forgave me, and are now my friend...

"Hold, on Dean, you and I are friends and will be forever. We discussed out relationship. I am not mad at you at all. I forgave you, and I told you why. I did not forgive her."

"Look, Linds," Shane interjected, "Al made a pretty compelling argument. He is in love with her, and boy did that happen fast. Linds, we are going to be spending a lot of time with her when we go to the baby shower. The ride there, the time there, and the ride back. Can't you at least be civil to her?"

Lindsay played with her beer bottle rolling it between her hands. "Shane, I will be civil to her for Al. Let me ask you two guys a question. Are you two going to be buddies with her now?"

Dean answered first, "Look, I don't have to have much to do with her, but since her grandmother and grandfather both turned on her, I do feel a little bit sorry for her."

"Whoa, hold on Dean, you said her grandparents turned on her?"

"Yes, Lindsay, for dating Al, I guess they don't like him for being a lot older than her, plus his background is not up to their standards, I wish you had stayed and listened to Al," Shane added.

"Lindsay," Dean added. "You are such a gentle soul. The fact that you caused her the pain bothers you."

"Dean," Lindsay stood up, "Sometimes you know me to well. I am going to go outside and call Marty. Tell Al I will be civil toward her." Lindsay turned and walked out.

"Is she mad at us, Shane?"

"No dear, right now she needs to hear how much she is loved. You ought to see how she lights up when he comes into a room. When she comes back it will be better."

"You know Shane, I am so glad she found Marty. She deserves a guy like him who worships the ground she walks on."

"It goes both ways, Dean, that is a match made in heaven. They are so right for each other. Speaking of worshiping the ground someone walks on...Ummmmmmm Me. Tell me."

Dean laughed. "Come here dear." Shane scooted up onto his lap. This was one of the times she was glad she was on the small side.

Shortly, Lindsay came back all smiles, and sat down. "Would you two cut it out? Marty says he can go to White Plains with us. It will have to be Monday. He will drive here and we can go in Dean's Yukon. That way, we will all be comfortable."

* * *

**ROAD TRIP**

Marty drove to Stars Hollow and picked up Dean and swapped his car for Dean's SVU. Then they drove to Norwich, where they picked up Shane and Lindsay. The ladies had made up a basket with sandwiches and a cooler with water and soda. It was decided that Marty would drive and Dean would stay in the front seat, due to his leg.

"Okay, guys, here is the plan. It will take us a little under three hours to get there. We are going to take 395 to 95 then south of New Haven we will pick up the Merritt parkway which turns into the Hutchinson River parkway at the New York state line and then off on the Cross Westchester Expressway, and we are in White Plains.

"So Shane," Marty asked. "What are Dean and I supposed to do while you two are shopping?"

"Well, we figured we would drop you two off at the Crown Plaza hotel, where we are going to spend the night and you two can do whatever you want."

Marty looked puzzled, "We are spending the night?"

Shane laughed, "Relax, Marty it is on Lindsay and me." There are two room reserved, I will give you my credit card and you two can check in. When we are done shopping, we will join you."

Lindsay added there is an excellent bar and restaurant, so Shane and I figured we could just spend the rest of the day there and drive back in the morning."

"Marty, don't they tell you anything?" Dean said laughingly.

Lindsay smacked Dean in the back of his head. "Don't pick on Marty; this was a surprise for him."

It was a cold crisp day, very sunny with little traffic. It was very cozy in the Yukon. They stopped at the Mobil rest area at the New York state line. Shane programmed the GPS for the address of the Crown Plaza hotel while Marty gassed up the SVU.

"Aren't these things wonderful, put in the address and it will talk you right to the place."

"They sure are Shane, so now be quiet so I can listen to it and find the hotel," Marty added. Which drew a laugh from everyone, as Shane was never noted for quietness.

After about twenty minutes, they arrived in front of the Crowne Plaza hotel in White Plains. "Okay guys, here is my credit card. The reservations are already made. Just take our baggage up and we should have joining rooms. Neiman Marcus is right across the shopping center so we will not be long."

"All right Shane, but I think Dean will have all he can do walking."

The girls pulled away, leaving the two men standing on the sidewalk.

* * *

**THE CROWNE PLAZA**

Marty got a luggage cart, not that they really needed one, but Dean was no help. They entered the lobby which soared upward for about six stories. The hotel was plush and there was a steady stream of people going to the various areas of the hotel. Dean and Marty approached the front desk. "May I help you?" the clerk asked.

Marty put the credit card Shane had given him on the desk. I believe you have two rooms reserved for a Shane Ryan.

The clerk checked his computer screen, "Yes we do, they are adjoining rooms." He then ran an imprint of the credit card. He saw that Shane had given all the information over the phone when she made her reservation. He then handed Marty two small envelopes. Each holding a set of two cards.

"Dean, what do you think? I'll take the bags to the room and I'll meet you in the bar, and we will have a beer."

"You're on Marty."

Dean looked around, the place was huge. The lobby was very comfortable with sofas and chairs scattered in various locations. As he looked around he could see meetings rooms and a door that led to a swimming pool. Dean then spotted Fenimore's lounge. "That is where the beer will be," he said to himself.

Dean, using his crutches, made it to the lounge and sat at the bar. The bartender placed a bowl of peanuts by him. "What would you like, sir?"

"Umm... I'll take a Miller, please."

"Draft or bottle?"

"Whichever is the coldest."

"I'd go with the draft," and he held up a twenty two ounce glass.

"Draft it is." Dean looked around the lounge. He was impressed by its plush thick carpet. The bar was shaped like a horse shoe and the booths were set up to ensure maximum privacy. Dean thought that this was a very comfortable bar. He was broken out of his thoughts when the bartender asked,, "Cash or Credit?"

"Credit" and he took out his Visa card and gave it to the bartender.

"Will you be running a tab?"

"Yes I will be."

Just then, Marty sat next to him. "That beer looks good, Dean, I think I will have the same." Marty reached into his pocket for his wallet. "Marty, don't bother he has my credit card, we can settle up later."

The bar tender brought over the large draft beer and another bowl of peanuts.

"Well, Marty, I wonder how long the girls are going to be, I hope they aren't too long, this beer is going down real easy."

"They might be pissed if we're drunk; I think a little loaded they won't mind, but drunk nah. Hey look, this place has NTN trivia, let's ask the bar tender for a couple of boxes and we can kill time playing this."

The bar tender brought over the two gaming boxes and put the game on a TV they could see easier, "Hey, Dean a game of countdown is starting, bet you a dollar."

"You're on Yale boy."

* * *

**NEIMAN MARCUS**

Shane spotted the Neiman Marcus store. It was basically across the shopping center from the hotel. They walked through the doors and walked into a huge show room with clothing everywhere. Before they went to the children's section, they decided to go to the woman's wear section. Lindsay spotted a dress she liked. It was a black cocktail dress by Herve Leger. It was black with a Vee neck line and a straight skirt. Lindsay turned to Shane, "I have got to try this on."

Lindsay took it off the rack and noticed the price. "$850 dollars! Yikes Shane, I don't even have this much money in the bank," she exclaimed and went to put it back on the rack.

"Come, on Lindsay, try it on. Let's see what $850 dollars looks like on you."

Lindsay thought for a moment and decided why not. She exited the dressing room five minutes later.. Lindsay padded over to Shane in her stocking feet.

"Lindsay, you're a trip. Here you are wearing this gorgeous cocktail dress and you're standing there in your gray knee socks."

Lindsay laughed, "Hey it is just me."

A clerk came over and asked Lindsay what size shoe she wore. "Eight, why?"

Please stay here till I get something for you and she hustled away. A couple of minutes later, she came back and handed Lindsay a pair of heels. "Would you please take off your socks and try the heels?"

"Why? That doesn't make sense."

A slightly built man stepped forward. "I am John St. Claire; I am associated with the Herve Leger line of clothes. I would like to photograph you with your permission. The photos will not be published. You have my guarantee."

The clerk went up to Lindsay,"He is legit dear. He is here checking on how the sales of his company's line are doing."

Lindsay tuned to Shane, "Hey how about helping me out here, be my agent," then she started laughing.

John St. Claire spoke to Shane. "Your friend has the look we are looking for. I would like to take a couple of photos and get a number from you."

"Hey, Linds, go for it, what do you have to lose? Mr. St. Claire, if my friend's photos turn up on the internet, I will personally find you and castrate you."

"Look, I don't have a clue as to how a model does what a model does. So what do you want me to do?"

"Lindsay, that's your name right?

Lindsay nodded.

"Be yourself and just walk around."

Lindsay shrugged her shoulders and started to walk around the woman's apparel area. Occasionally, St. Claire would yell "Look at me, look away, look right, reach for the top shelf."

Lindsay had drawn a small crowd. Shane heard one woman say "I would kill to look that good in a dress." Another woman turned to her and said, "It is a crime to look like that." Another one said, "She is simply stunning, where has this creature been hiding?"

They finished and St. Claire was reviewing the pictures on his digital camera and turned to Lindsay and Shane and said "Perfect. I think my company will want to talk to you. One more thing, Lindsay you should lose about ten pounds, the camera puts weight on you."

Shane took the camera from him and looked at the pictures. "St. Claire, she looks perfectly fine in those pictures." Shane then turned to Lindsay "You want to lose weight?

"No I don't. If you want me you get what you see."

One of the woman bystanders turned to her companion. "That man is nuts, that girl is stunning, they should just leave her alone."

Shane then turned to St. Claire. "I think my friend should keep the dress. You made her work and she did it. So how about it?"

"That is not possible, if I gave you the dress, it would be a sort of payment for the pictures and they would become the property of the company."

Lindsay shook her head, "No Shane, I don't want my pictures up there, hey I had fun wearing it, now let's go find baby things."

Lindsay walked back into the changing room and changed back into her jeans sweater, and half boots. She walked out of the changing room with the dress on a hanger. The clerk took the dress from her. "Wait a minute," she then boxed it and handed it to Lindsay.

Lindsay was stunned, "Why, what happened?"

"A gentleman that has requested to remain anonymous told me that you owned that dress and it should never be worn by anyone else. So he bought it for you." The clerk handed Shane a box. He also told me that since you two are together, you should have a little something also. There is a very beautiful sweater in there."

They thanked the clerk and headed for the children department. Both of them were stunned. They could not figure out who bought the dress and sweater for them.

Once they arrived in the childern's department, Shane approached the clerk and told her that they were shopping for Paris Mariano who was registered with Nieman Marcus for baby clothes. The clerk checked and confirmed that piece of information.

"Okay, Linds, let's look around and see what we can get Paris for her child."

"Ah, Linds, I just found what I was looking for, a Swankie Blankie Baby Birds blanket and towels for $68 dollars."

"Okay, Shane I just found a Christening gown for about $65 dollars. I tell you what, I cannot believe the prices in this place."

"Yeah, you're right. I looked at a baby bag for over $1200.00 dollars that is insane. Let's get out of here mission accomplished and we made out. I wonder who our benefactor was."

"I am with you there, Shane, I was wondering if one of the guys snuck over and did that, but the only one who has money is Dean and he is not mobile. I guess when I said I would not lose the weight my career went down the tubes. I am not going to be a stick."

"Linds, I am with you, but I was sort of looking forward to my career as an agent. You know the degree I am studying for is right up the alley for that profession."

"True, true, Shane, I am sorry, but did you really want to live in a house with me starving, no sex, no food. You really want to go there?

"Oh, Lindsay I have seen you eat, and I think you break the model calorie daily intake half way through breakfast."

"Come on Linds, let's get out of here."

* * *

**THE CROWNE PLAZA PART TWO**

Shane found a parking spot near the entrance of the hotel. They walked in carrying their packages. "Shane, I would think they are at the bar in this place. I cannot see the two of them sitting in a room by their selves."

"Shane walked to the front desk and identified herself and asked the clerk if they could leave their packages behind the desk. The clerk, once he checked that Shane Ryan was indeed a guest, he took the packages for safe keeping.

They spotted the Fenimore Lounge and walked in and found their men engrossed in a game of Trivia. Shane and Lindsay sat down, and the first thing they noticed was that these two guys were totally into what they were doing. "Marty," Lindsay asked what are you playing?"

"Hush, in a minute dear".

Lindsay was a bit taken back, the bar tender came over and they ordered two drafts just like the guys were drinking and Dean looked up and motioned to the bar tender to put it on his tab. The game was finally over and they explained that they were betting on the game and that Marty had won five out of seven contests and was up five dollars. They explained the game to the girls who were totally not interested.

"Marty, some stranger bought me a $850 dollar dress, and Shane a beautiful sweater."

Marty was all ears now. "Lindsay, why did he buy you a dress. What did you have to do for it?"

"Don't worry Marty, Lindsay is not running off anywhere." Then Shane related the story.

Marty was jealous that Lindsay was parading around showing off. He knew that she was beautiful, and again he wondered if one day one of her many admirers would take her away from him. He thought he had a thing or loved Rory, that was nothing compared what he felt for Lindsay. She was just so right. Honest, loving and innocent to the ways of the world to a fault. He admitted to himself he really did not care how she looked, all he knew is that when she was around him his world lit up.

Shane suggested that they all take a nap before dinner as they have been up since five AM and dinner would be no fun with a bunch of sleepy tired people.

They all agreed. "By the way," Shane added." Dean and I have one room and you two have the other."

Lindsay and Marty entered their room. Marty looked at her and said "Lindsay, I will take a nap in the recliner and you can have the bed"

"No."

"You mean you want the recliner?"

"No."

"Well what do you want?"

"Marty, do you remember that I told you that there is a time and place for things?"

"Yes, dear, I do, why?"

"Marty, I love your good manners, I love how you treat me and put me on a pedestal. I love how you wrote me that fantastic poem and I love you."

"Marty, _this_ is the time and place. Let's lie down on the bed, share a kiss and let nature take its course from there. Marty and Lindsay sat on the bed, He kissed her and said, "I love you Lindsay."

"I know Marty, and I love you, too, baby." They slowly leaned back on the bed.

They laid together on the bed in each other's arms. Kissing a bit and talking softly to each other. "You know dear, I had plans to take you away on Valentine's Day."

Lindsay laughed, "Well I can always turn on the TV now, and we can watch something."

Marty kissed Lindsay. "I don't think so dear."

"Good choice, honey."

At eight o'clock, the four of them met up to go to dinner. Dean looked at Lindsay and Marty. "I see you guys had a problem sleeping also. I know that Shane and I are exhausted. Instead of dinner, let's get some pizza from the pizza place we saw coming in."

Marty raised his hand." I'll go, let's keep it simple, pepperoni mushrooms olives, and onions, and I'll grab a twelve pack."

Shane called and ordered ahead. Marty was back forty minutes later with pizza and beer. After that was consumed, they all went back to their rooms for the night.

* * *

**THE RIDE TO PHILADELPHIA**

Shane and Lindsay drove to Shane's house in Stars Hollow to await being picked up by Nicole. Allison had made them coffee and they sat around waiting."Girls I want to talk to you about Rory Gilmore."

That got both Shane and Lindsay's attention, "What about, Mom?"

"I know you two have no love for the girl, but I want you to remember two things. One, this weekend is about the mother to be. Rory is her best friend. Two, I know both of you girls are not the type to kick someone when they are down, and Rory is down. So for me, and for Paris, bury the hatchet this weekend."

Shane knew that the request from her mother was anything but a request. It was an order, and it would be obeyed.

"Yes, Mom."

"And you, Lindsay?"

"Allison, you have my word that I will be polite to her and will not do anything to make her unhappy or the mother to be uncomfortable."

"Thank you." Allison looked up at the clock, "When did you say your ride was going to show up?"

"Shane glanced at the clock, she should have been here. I am sure Nicole will be here shortly."

"What are your boyfriends going to be doing this weekend? Hanging out together?"

"No mom, Marty will be in New Haven and Dean will be around town or as around as he can get."

"Just curious Lindsay, how do Dean and Marty get along? One is a Yale graduate working on his masters, and Dean is basically a construction worker."

"Just fine, Allison, they like each other, and actually have a lot in common. They found some Trivia game in some bars they like to play. They like football, and Dean is an avid reader so he can keep up with the conversation."

A gray Ford Explorer pulled into the drive way. "Girls your ride is here, have a good time and behave."

Shane kissed her mom on the way out the door, and Lindsay gave Allison a jug and they walked to the car. Nicole had gotten out and opened the back so they could stash the presents and their bags.

Shane opened the rear door and slid in, "Hi Rory how is it going today?"

Lindsay opened the door on the other side and glanced at Rory. "Hi, good morning."

Rory greeted them both and Nicole backed out of the driveway and they started the four hour trip to Philadelphia. She wondered to herself how she was going to get the four of them into a civil conversation, or it was going to be a long ride. Well she thought to herself, most girls in a group would talk about boys, but in this group that may not be a good idea.

Shane broke the silence, "Hey Rory, You got yourself a good man in Al. Lindsay and I both think he is a great guy."

"Thank you Shane, he is a very thoughtful interesting man."

The silence was overwhelming. Rory, Shane, and Lindsay each stared out their window watching the scenery go by. Shane was doing her old trick of watching cars and wondering what the lives of the occupants were like, Rory was thinking to herself, I would like to be friendly with them, but she now realized what she had done and really could not blame them for shunning her. Lindsay was dreaming of her afternoon and night with Marty. It was so much better than she had ever imagined. She leaned back and thinking of Marty she fell asleep. Nicole was thinking this is going to be a very long four hours.

South of New Haven, Nicole exited interstate 95 for the Merritt Parkway one of the oldest in the United States, She liked the way it curved through the beautiful heavily forested country side. It was hard to believe that she was driving though a densely populated area. All the over pass bridges were made of stone, and fairly low. One of the reasons there was no truck traffic on the parkway. Nicole commented to no one in general what a beautiful drive this was.

Shane replied, "I know, we just drove it last week. When we went to the Neiman Marcus in White Plains New York for Paris's gift."

Rory chimed in, "Al drove me to the Neiman Marcus in Natick, Massachusetts. So I could shop for Paris's gift."

Nicole asked, "What did you get, Rory?"

"I bought a stroller Nicole; they are going to assemble it. So what did you get, Nicole?"

"Well, I went to the store in Boston, I had other things to do there, I was in a hurry so I just got her a gift certificate for five hundred dollars."

Shane ears perked up with that statement, "Nicole, you are invited to my baby shower whenever I get around to it."

Rory and Nicole laughed.

"You know, I think it is funny that we all went to different Nieman Marcus'. I wonder where Louise and Madeline went?"

"Rory, I just met Louise the one time and I have never met Madeline, so I have no idea."

"I guess you wouldn't, Shane."

They were about half way there; Nicole took the Cross Westchester Express way to the Tappan Zee bridge across the Hudson River, where she was going to pick up the Garden State parkway to then New Jersey Turnpike. Nicole was thinking of the interlocking relationships these girls had. Rory went out with Dean and Jess, and was friends with Marty; Shane went out with Jess and now goes out with Dean. Lindsay was married to Dean and now goes out with Marty. _Good grief, _she thought, _I need to write all this down, so I don't say the wrong thing._

Lindsay finally woke up, and looked out the window at the trees speeding past, "Where are we asked sleepily?"

"We just crossed the Hudson River, Linds."

"Hey do you guys want a soda? Linds and I packed a cooler full."

Nicole and Rory both said yes and Lindsay just stuck her hand out.

"Hey guys," Shane blurted out. You should have seen what happened to Lindsay in Neiman Marcus, Linds tried on this expensive dress just for the hell of it. Anyway, some representative of the fashion company was there and he had her walk around and he took pictures of her. The sales manager told us that he was legitimate. To make a long story short he told her that they would be getting back with her, and he suggested she lose ten to fifteen pounds."

Rory looked at Lindsay and then Shane, "Where is she supposed to lose it from? Lindsay looks fine to me."

"Well thank you, Rory," Lindsay muttered.

"Anyway, guys I had it all figured out to be her agent, but Linds did not want to lose the weight. So my career ended before it got started."

They all laughed at that.

"Oh yeah, and it gets better, some guy who we never saw bought the dress for Lindsay and said she owned the dress and no one else should ever wear it."

Nicole turned briefly, and looked back at Lindsay. "Lindsay, seriously, have you ever considered becoming a model?"

"Nicole, you heard what the man said. I am too fat, besides no boys ever wanted me except for Marty," as soon as she said his name her whole face lit up.

Nicole, who was watching Lindsay through the rear view mirror said, "That's it, that's the look, Lindsay, you are the classic girl next door, you are so sexy in an innocent looking way."

Lindsay blushed,"What are they going to do, put me in a issue of Mad magazine?"

"Rory you have the most incredible blue eyes I have ever seen," Nicole added.

"Blue eyes are two recessive genes" Rory said to no one in general.

Nicole guided the car off the roadway onto an exit ramp, "Okay ladies, gas stop and bathroom break."

They all refreshed themselves and went into the market and grabbed snacks. Nicole then went out and gassed up the car while the others were wandering around the market, "Well two more hours and we'll be there. So far so good."

Once every one was strapped in, Nicole drove down the exit ramp and smoothly merged with traffic. Shane and Lindsay started talking about work so Nicole figured she would talk to Rory about Paris and how they forged their friendship. Rory went on to tell her that they hated each other at first, but somehow found themselves being friends it was hard to explain.

Nicole spotted a sign "Benjamin Franklin Bridge 10 miles." She turned to Rory, "I need you to enter in the GPS, 400 ARCH ST Philadelphia. That is the address of the Holiday Inn we are staying at. We should have about an hour to change for the shower."

The four woman checked in. Lindsay, and Shane to one room and Nicole and Rory to the other.

Once in their room, Shane turned to Lindsay. This is semi not fair. Those two have clothes for a formal baby shower. I guess business casual is the way we have to dress."

"Yeah, I know Shane, I thought I would wear that dress that was bought for me, but that dress might be a little much for even a formal baby shower. Besides, the attention needs to be on Paris and not some long legged blonde with cleavage."

Shane laughed, "You're a good egg, Linds, you are always thinking of how someone else would feel. You're going to be a great teacher."

Both of the girls opted for skirts that ended mid knee, a blouse, and a jacket, that they had to scour the second hand shops in three towns before they found the two that they wanted.

"Shane, if your mother did not loan us that thousand dollars we could have not done all of this."

"I know, she gave us good terms to pay her back, plus Dean slipped two hundred in my purse the last time I saw him."

"He is a good boyfriend, Shane."

"Yes he is, Linds..."

They heard knocking on the door. It was Nicole. "Let's go ladies.

Both Nicole and Rory were wearing very casual and very elegant tailored suits.

They took the elevator to the car and Nicole had Rory program in 1523 Walnut street, the address of Le Bec Fin, where the shower was going to be held.

Lindsay whispered into Shane's ear,"Hey, they dressed just like us, I think Nicole's outfit alone is about fifteen hundred dollars."

"Linds, you need to change from Teaching to Law. Nicole does quite well."

They arrived at Le Bec Fin. Nicole let the girls out with the presents and drove across the street where she gave the car to the valet parking service located there.

* * *

**THE SHOWER**

Nicole told the doorman they were there for the Paris Mariano Baby Shower. They were escorted into a private room where several guests were all ready in attendance. Lindsay and Shane said hello to Louise, who introduced them to her friend Madeline. "Shane, look Lorelai is here, I wonder how that is going to go over with Nicole. It's odd that Rory came with us instead of her mother."

Shane nudged Lindsay, "See that woman over there"

"Where?"

"The one with strawberry blonde hair. That is Jess's mother. She probably rode with her."

"Hey, Shane, you notice that the table has name cards."

There was a small service bar set up in the room. The bartender was a tall redhead who looked very efficient. Soon, everyone had cocktails and was chatting among themselves. All the gifts were set on a table against the wall. Jess's mother hushed everyone "Paris will be here in a few minutes. She thinks Jess is taking her out to a fancy dinner."

A few moments later Paris walked in with Jess. It took her a minute to realize what was going on. She put her hand to her mouth and went "**OH MY GOD**!"

Jess escorted her to the head of the table where he handed his wife off to his mother and Nicole. Jess held up both arms and made the vee victory sign and said, "See ya," and left.

Every one took turns greeting Paris and she was totally surprised. Paris had no idea this was going to happen. The bartender came over and gave Paris a Shirley Temple.

Lindsay and Shane came over to Paris and each one of them hugged her and told her how much they were looking forward to the Baby Shower. Paris told them she had no idea.

Liz told Paris if she had her way there would be male strippers at the shower, she also added,"I don't think that has ever been done before."

Paris laughed, "Liz, maybe some other time when I can really appreciate a male stripper."

Nicole decided as soon as things settled down, and Paris looked comfortable, she would get everyone seated and dinner would begin. They had decided that, instead of a theme Baby Shower, they were going to have a fabulous sit down dinner. There was a menu at every place.

_THE MENU_

_Appetizers _

_Roasted Spanish Octopus, Meyer Lemon, Smoked Paprika, Rocket _

_Organic Lettuce & Fine Herbs, Pickled Radish, White Tarragon Balsamic Vinaigrette _

_Hubbard Squash Soup Flavored with Porter, Curried Mustard Seeds, Shaved Mushrooms _

_Entrées _

_Roasted Stuffed Quail, Braised Légumes, Root Vegetable Fricassée _

_Pan Seared Scottish Salmon, Celery Root, Forrest Mushrooms, Soy Brown Butter _

_Flat Iron Steak, Butternut Squash, Pumpkin Seed, Coco Nibs _

_Cheese Course _

_Chef's Selection of Artisan Cheese _

_Dessert _

_Selection from the Dessert Cart_

Nicole thanked Lorelai for helping with the planning, and the menu. This is what Lorelai did, and she was good at it. Nicole and Lorelai had not officially gone to war over Luke, but they agreed that Paris should have a first class Baby Shower.

Lindsay turned to Shane, "Gee, all I wanted was a hamburger. I don't know what to pick."

"Just do what I am going to do. It all sounds so good. I am going to close my eyes and put my finger down and see what it is.

During the dinner the conversation flowed freely, and Paris was pampered by all. Something she was not used to. After dinner was served, and the table cleared

The gifts were brought to Paris one by one. Paris was getting more and more sentimental and shedding tears of happiness. Nowhere in her wildest dreams did she realize that so many people cared about her.

Guests at the Baby Shower

Nicole Leahy

Liz Danes

Lorelai Gilmore

Luiza Da Silva (Paris's Portuguese nanny who raised her)

Shane Ryan

Louise Grant (friend from Chilton and Yale)

Lindsay Lister

Madeline Lynn (friend from Chilton and Yale)

Rory Gilmore

Andrea McPhee (A girl she had met and also put off Harvard)

Lane Van Gerbig (Nee Kim)

Janet Billings (Yale roommate)

Lucy Smith (Yale classmate and ex-girlfriend of Marty)

Danielle Randolph (Yale Classmate)

Darlene Carlson (Yale Classmate)

The Baby Shower was coming to a conclusion. All who attended agreed that it was a great baby shower and that they liked the idea of a sit down dinner. Everyone had a chance to interact with the mother to be. Luiza Da Silva hovered over Paris like a mother, which in all actuality she really was having basically raised Paris from the age of five.

Paris thanked Lindsay and Shane, "I am really surprised that you guys came, you hardly knew me."

"Paris, what we did know we liked and would not miss your Baby Shower. We are looking forward to having a few drinks with you after you have you child and come visit Stars Hollow. Right, Linds?"

Lindsay leaned over and gave Paris a kiss on the cheek. "Shane has it right. We would love to go out with you when you are able to."

* * *

**THE HOTEL**

After the short ride to the hotel they decided to have a few drinks in the lounge, which sounded like a good idea at the time.

Lindsay and Shane as usual ordered a beer. Nicole ordered a White Russian, and Rory ordered an apple martini. Shane and Nicole fell into an easy conversation. What they did not notice was Lindsay and Rory eying each other like a bull and a matador.

Lindsay was thinking to herself, _Rory is friends with and goes to school with Marty. What if she decided to get even, and tries to take Marty away from me?_ Lindsay knew that Marty really liked Rory at one point. Lindsay knew that Marty loved her, but...

Rory was half listening to the conversation Nicole and Shane were having, and added a word every now and then. Rory wondered if Lindsay would go after Al. She saw them sitting together when she came into the Log Cabin Pub. Rory knew they were friends before she came into the picture. She liked Al a lot. Al was exactly what she needed, a strong masculine influence in her life. Rory ordered another drink.

Shane was noticing that Lindsay was sort of sulking by herself. This was not the woman her roommate was. She did not realize that Rory affected her that much. Shane put her hand on Lindsay's arm to get her attention. "Are you doing all right?"

"I am trying, Shane, I just can't put it behind me. She goes to school with Marty. She gets to see him every day. I don't think that is fair. I don't trust her, Shane."

"Lindsay, you forgave Dean, can't you put Rory behind you?"

"Shane it is different. Awhile back I realized that it was true. Dean was Rory's. He loved her. He loved her when he married me. We were manipulated by my parents. We got married a little too soon. I was a totally innocent young girl who had no business being married. That is how I forgave Dean. He was used. Dean was as much of a victim as I was. But Rory, I don't care if she was in love with Dean or Dean was in love with her. She made a decision to have an affair with my husband. Why Shane? Wasn't that about the time Jess took off and she was bored?"

Nicole had gone off to the ladies room. Shane seemed to be in deep conversation with Lindsay. Rory sat quietly nursing her drink. Lindsay with the help of Shane went after her with the sole purpose of hurting her. Never in her life had she experienced anything like that. Yes, they did stop, but the damage was done and the scheme took on a life of its own. Maybe they did her a favor, she did not know. Lindsay was a very beautiful girl. If she did not throw herself at Logan, maybe he never would have strayed. Deep down she knew that was false. Rory admitted to herself that she was very taken with Al. He treated her a lot like Dean did. He put her before himself and was a very unselfish man. Rory thought to herself that she was happier with Al than she had ever been with Logan. What if Lindsay decided to take Al away from her? They were friends and they knew each other before she came on the scene. Rory knew that Lindsay was with Marty, but Rory had never thought of Marty as anything for than a friend and could not see what Lindsay saw in him.

Nicole was walking back to the bar where they were sitting, thinking to herself. It seemed like Lindsay and Rory sort of liked the same type of men. They both loved Dean, Rory was friends with Lindsay's boy friend Marty, and Lindsay was friends with Rory's boyfriend, Al. Nicole was starting to realize that she had a very explosive situation on her hands fueled with alcohol. She knew it was going to blow. Nicole sensed the tension between the two girls. She noticed that Shane was level headed and Nicole decided to enlist Shane to get the other two out of the bar and into their rooms. They could send out for Chinese later on if anyone was hungry.

When Nicole returned to the bar she whispered in Shane's ear, "Let's get the two of them out of here."

They paid their tab and they all left without a problem. In the elevator, on the way to the sixth floor, Rory without thinking said, "When I see Marty for lunch Monday, I will have to tell him that he was right about how he thought the baby shower was going to go."

Lindsay lost it and jumped in front of Rory, "You stay the hell away from my man, you bitch!"

Lindsay towered over Rory by at least four inches and was physically fit from working out , playing basketball and swimming, especially compared to Rory, who at best was a girly girl. "I will kick your ass."

Later on no one would believe what happened next. Rory shoved the bigger Lindsay against the elevator wall and yelled "You slut, you stay away from Al!" Everyone was shocked. Shane and Nicole knew that they could not stop Lindsay if she decided to go after Rory. Shane got between the two of them knowing that Lindsay would not hurt her. Strangely, Lindsay calmed down. Lindsay stared at Rory for a few minutes. "You're really in love with Al, aren't you?"

Rory who was still breathing hard said, "Yes, yes I am, how do you know?"

"You knew I could beat the crap out of you, but you were willing to fight for your man. I don't like you, and maybe I never will, but you surprised and impressed me. You and I are not going to play patty cake anytime soon. Al is my friend and I respect your relationship with him."

Rory stared at Lindsay for a minute and said, "Thanks, and I respect yours with Marty."

They exited the elevator and said their goodnights. Nicole told them that they were going to leave at 8:30AM which would give them time for breakfast.

Nicole knew that the ride home would be a lot more pleasant then the ride to Philadelphia.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	14. Chapter 14

**Blondes Have More Fun  
**Chapter Fourteen

**Genre**: Drama  
**Starring**: Shane/Lindsay  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Lorelai, Dean, Logan, Marty, Emily, and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

_**So we finally come to the end of the first installment in the Lost Girls of Stars Hollow series. Thank you Curley-Q, Ghostwriter, EnchantedxRomance, GotaPenName, GilmoreGirlsFan23, Anna Luna, TiaRat, JJsMommy27, and Chaeel for taking the time to leave your comments about the story, they were very much appreciated.**_

_****Also… a very special thanks to the following reviewers: Miguel51, Marla's Lost, Sidura, Summer2391 and Jeremy Shane. Miguel, Marla and Sidura wrote some very thoughtfully detailed and entertaining reviews each time a new chapter was posted. Reading their reviews was just as much as fun as writing the story was. Jeremy and Summer, a very special thanks to you, too, for faithfully reading the story from start to finish and including your encouraging comments after every chapter to continue on with the story.****_

* * *

_Also, "borrowing" a page from Miguel51's book of genius, pictures have recently been added to the "Lost Girls of Stars Hollow" profile page of the "new" characters that were added to this story – Rose, Ida, Lenny, etc. You might want to take a peek at them to better visualize what those characters are like. Apologies for not having them up sooner, but promise to have pictures posted on a timelier basis for future stories. ( You'll also notice that pictures have now been added for the other story, "Love Lost, Love Found, Love Lost, Love Found - Maybe" story, too.)_

* * *

Now Without Further Ado, Please enjoy the Valentine's Day Chapter of "Blondes Have More Fun"

**At the Gilmore Mansion…**

Emily Gilmore flipped through to the "H's" in her gold-plated rolodex until she came to Shira Huntzberger's phone number. Dogged as usual, she was still not giving up on her mission to break up Al and Rory. Figuring she could right two wrongs, she decided that despite Logan's tendency toward infidelity, Rory would be much happier if the two of them got back together and the ladies in the DAR would certainly be more impressed with him as a husband for her only grandchild than they would be if Rory married Al. Besides, Emily reasoned to herself, in her usually irrational manner, Rory almost owed her this redemption considering the constant occurrences of embarrassment her daughter, Lorelai, had subjected her to over the years.

She dialed the phone and Shira's British butler, Nelson, picked up on the second ring.

"Good morning, you have reached the Huntzberger manor. With whom do you wish to converse?" Nelson answered, his elegant British accent dripping with its usual, royal panache.

"Good morning, Nelson, this is Emily Gilmore. Might I trouble you to speak with Mrs. Huntzberger?"

"Ah, Emily, lovely to speak with you, as usual. I shall be happy to see if Mrs. Huntzberger is in dispose. One moment, please."

While Emily waited for Shira to come on the line, she recalled she needed to fire her current Guatemalan maid, Lupe, for serving dinner fifteen seconds late the night before. How she wished she could steal Nelson away from the Huntzbergers. Unlike her other household staff, who she usually fired after three days, she was sure she could tolerate Nelson for at least six weeks, maybe even longer if she upped the dosage on her Prosacs.

"Emily, this is a surprise," Logan's mother, Shira, screeched into the phone. "I never expected to hear from you again after Logan and Rory broke up."

"Well, that is precisely what I am calling you about, Shira. Those two kids need to get back together and they need to be married as soon as possible."

"Emily, I told you a long time ago that I didn't think Rory met the sufficient standards for marrying into the Huntzberger family. I think you should look at this as a blessing in disguise, since you will now save face since I never had any intention of allowing my son to marry your granddaughter."

"And I told you at the time I knew all about your past before you married Mitchum and that you were the last person to condemn anyone for not meeting your vague sort of standards."

"Ah, Emily, my dear vicious, but powerless, Emily. You can't prove anything about my past," Shira laughed.

"Oh, but I can prove plenty about your _present_ and so can the staff at that lovely Motel 6, where you've been spending every Wednesday afternoon for the past six months with Roberto, your pool boy."

Shira winced, she didn't know which detective agency Emily had hired to glean that bit of information, but she admired her for hiring the very best and if she wasn't fooling around herself, she would have loved to hire them, too, to catch her husband, Mitchum, in the act with one of his many mistresses so she could finally divorce him and get her hands on most of his money.

"All right, Emily, you win. You are vicious, but you are certainly not powerless. What do you want me to do?"

"Have Logan apologize to Rory for messing around with that trashy tramp from Norwich. He should also bring Rory a bouquet of purple tulips, her favorite flowers, and then take her to the 21 Club in Manhattan and allow her to order the most expensive item on their menu. I am sure if he follows that arrangement, she will be smitten with him once again. Valentine's Day is next month, so let's make this happen this Saturday, it will give them enough time to reconcile so Logan can properly propose to her on Valentine's Day and then we can plan for a June wedding."

"Consider it done," Shira replied. She wasn't crazy about this, but she had no choice. Not only did she not feel like Rory lived up to the Huntzberger standards, but she had personally always found Rory's personality more than a bit monotonous and wondered why Logan hadn't noticed it by now, too.

* * *

**At Pete's Tavern…**

Shane and Lindsay were back at work on Sunday evening and were brimming with excitement. They couldn't wait to tell Ida and Lenny all about their adventures in Philadelphia.

"Well, girls, you two look happy these days. Must be getting pretty cozy with your new boyfriends by now," Lenny joked.

"Lenny, get your mind out of the land fill, you dirty old man," Ida scolded. "Come and tell me all about the baby shower on your break, girls," Ida said.

"Okay, Ida, we will, and we brought you and Lenny some gifts back from Philadelphia," Lindsay said as she handed them each a bag of homemade, Pennsylvania Dutch, chocolate covered pretzels from the gift shop at their hotel.

Things had slowed down at the bar by nine o'clock, so Shane took out her cell phone so she could show Ida the pictures of Paris' baby shower, while Lindsay narrated.

"Who's that?" Ida asked as she spied a picture of Lorelai.

"That's Rory's mother, Lorelai."

"**Rory?" **Ida screamed incredulously. "You two went to the same shower with Little Miss Homewrecker?"

"We had no choice, Ida," Lindsay responded, "she is best friends with Paris, the person they were throwing this shower for."

"Wow, talk about awkward," Ida said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head in disbelief.

"No, being at the same shower with Rory wasn't awkward, but having to ride with her to the baby shower was definitely uncomfortable at times," Shane mentioned as she scrolled to the next photo on her camera.

"You two _rode_ with her to the shower? You both must be nuts! What possessed you to do a thing like that? And by the way, let me _see_ a picture of this Rory home wrecker, I've always been curious to see what this chick looks like. The way you two carry on about how she acts about her men, I'm expecting to see Queen of Sheba on that screen."

"Here she is," Shane said, giggling at Ida's comments.

"Well…I have to admit she is kind of a pretty girl at that, but she's not exactly a fashion model."

"No, but _Lindsay_ could be one," Shane commented, snickering as she recalled the incident at Nieman Marcus.

"Shut up, Shane, and stop opening your big mouth," Lindsay said, even though she knew it was too late to stop her now.

"In a minute, Linds…When we were at Nieman Marcus, in White Plains, a representative from Herve Leger started to offer Lindsay a modeling contract, but he suggested she lose about ten pounds first, so Lindsay told him to get lost. I, myself, was extremely disappointed because I was hoping I could be her agent."

"I don't know if you guys are giving it to me straight or pulling my leg on that one, but if it's a real story, all I can say is that guy is one sick bastard if he thinks Lindsay needs to lose ten ounces, let alone ten pounds."

"Thanks, Ida, I appreciate that…even if isn't true!" Lindsay replied humbly.

"Lindsay, how many times do I have to tell you, you're beautiful. If I have to tell you again, I'm gonna slap you!"

"I second that, Lindsay, you are beautiful and so are you, Shane. Now you three, quit your yakking and get back to work," Lenny commented, putting on a mock scary boss voice.

"Lenny, do you see anyone at the bar besides the four of us? Go eat your pretzels and shut up," Ida said fearlessly back to him.

* * *

**Mystery Shopper at Nieman Marcus Identified….**

Shane and Lindsay went through the McDonald's drive thru on their way home from the tavern since most places closed early on Sunday. Shane got a Big Mac, fries and a coke and Lindsay, still feeling self-conscious about St. Claire's assessment of her weight, only ordered a yogurt parfait. Shane knew exactly why she ordered the yogurt and that it wasn't going to hold Lindsay, so she also asked for a small order of Chicken McNuggets and pretended they were for her. She'd offer them to Lindsay after she ate her yogurt and realized she was still starving.

The girls spread out their food on the coffee table when they got home and flipped on the television to "Entertainment Tonight." They usually could care less about this type of Hollywood tabloid trash, but there was nothing else on at this time of night to watch and maybe they'd have the added bonus of being able to make fun of some of the stars.

The opening headline story blared "Jared Padelecki Buys a Herve Leger Dress for Mystery Lady at a Nieman Marcus in New York!"

"Oh my gosh, Linds! That's you, that's you!" Shane cried out excitedly, pointing to the screen.

"Oh my gosh, Shane. I got my dress courtesy of Sam from Super Natural? That is unbelievable."

"What is also unbelievable is that he looks an awful lot like Dean. I never realized how much those two look alike! It's kind of 'supernatural' that he had the hots for you and he looks like Dean. I should be jealous. Maybe Dean IS Jared Padelecki," Shane joked.

"Well, if he _is_ Jared, I guess I want him back," Lindsay teased.

"Nothing doing," Shane replied quickly, "unlike Rory, I can kick your ass."

Lindsay laughed and stuck her tongue out at Shane.

"Real mature, Lindsay."

"Hey, I like being immature now. Before I met you, Shane, I was starting to feel downright old."

Shane was glad to hear that Lindsay appreciated the influence she'd had on her life by rescuing her from living in an oppressive situation, but she wasn't very good at sentimental talk, so instead she just handed Lindsay the Chicken McNuggets and said, "Eat your Chicken McNuggets and shut up!"

"_My_ Chicken McNuggets?" Lindsay asked, looking at Shane confused, but gratefully accepting them.

* * *

**Over at the Gilmore House…**

Lorelai pensively looked at the phone ringing…it was her mother calling… should she pick it up or let it go to the machine? She realized it was a no brainer and let it go the machine and stood there preparing to mock her mother just as soon as she heard the beep go off.

"Lorelai, I'm calling to let you know that you can stop worrying. I am on my way to getting Logan and Rory back together. She and Al **DO NOT** belong together. He has never attended an Ivy League university and he does not understand the proper protocol of high society like we do. This is definitely for Rory's own good and I'm sure whatever feelings she thinks she has for this common highway patrol man will disappear once she sees Logan this Saturday and I would like to come over to your house tomorrow morning and discuss Rory's choice of wardrobe for Saturday. I will see you at 9 a.m. sharp. I have to go now; I need to fire Lupe before I go to bed."

The following morning, Lorelai met Emily on the porch, she was burning up with anger and she was not about to let her mother into her house.

"Mom, you have one hell of a nerve trying to come here to enlist my help with this devious plot you're cooking up. You did this once before when Rory was dating Dean and got all those stupid, horny, a**holes to come to your house to scare him off, even though she was perfectly happy with Dean. And she happens to be perfectly happy with Al now and I don't intend to let you bring Mr. Slimeball back into her life just because you want to run all over your country club and brag that your granddaughter married into the Huntzberger Publishing empire. That is beyond selfish, that is uber-selfish. Oh, and I still haven't forgiven you for that time you used Christopher to try and break me and Luke up."

"Lorelai, you couldn't stop me from breaking up Rory and Dean. You will not be able to stop me from reuniting her with Logan, either. I just thought you'd want to make the inevitable easier, but as usual, I have to do everything myself."

Lorelai experienced a sense of unease as she watched Emily drive off in her metallic silver Mercedes. She was actually more worried about Rory than she was her mother. Rory was very impressionable when it came to the men in her life. Jess had been able to manipulate her into thinking Dean's sweetness made him the equivalent of some sort of retard. Logan had been able to make her think it was all right for him to sleep with lots of different women when they first started dating. And when she started dating Dean again, her mother had succeeded in separating Rory from Dean by throwing a party with lots of men from Yale to offer her more "suitable" dating prospects and when Dean found out, it made him so insecure that he told Rory he probably wasn't good enough for her and since she just stood there and didn't say anything back to him, he realized she probably agreed with that and took off.

Lorelai wondered if Emily could succeed at brainwashing Rory all over again by using Logan to break up her and Al and she had the sinking feeling she probably could.

* * *

**Over at the Huntzberger Manor…**

"Logan, sweet baby, thank you for coming home on such short notice," Shira greeted as he walked into the brightly lit solarium. She really wondered if she was going to be able to pull off tricking Logan into seeing Rory again, but her marriage depended on her trying to make it happen.

"Greetings, Shira," Logan said as he bent down to hug his mother. "Why the sudden urge to see me?"

"Oh, Logan, you're my son and my favorite child. Do I need any more reason than that?"

"Usually you do," he replied honestly.

"Well, have a seat," she answered, skipping over his reply. "Would you like Nelson to bring you a Bloody Mary?"

"I'm not really a Bloody Mary kind of guy, Shira. Just have him bring me a scotch, neat."

"Oh, Logan, a scotch…so early?"

"Shira, as they say, it's always five o'clock somewhere in the world and I've been up since six a.m., so for me it's not so early."

"Touché, Logan, Nelson, please bring Logan a scotch, neat, right away."

"Yes, Madame," Nelson replied dutifully, "and would you care for a Bloody Mary as well?"

"Oh yes, Nelson, that would be lovely, thank you," Shira replied graciously, despite her many faults, she, unlike Emily, always treated her household servants with the utmost respect.

"Very good, Madame, I shall have those for you presently," Nelson replied.

Shira was glad that Logan had accepted her offer of alcohol, it would make easier to convince him to go out with Rory again.

"So, Logan, when are you going to get back together again with Rory Gilmore? I'm quite sure she must have forgiven you for your little dalliance by now and must be pining by her phone waiting for you to apologize and to ask her to take you back."

"Well, this is very suspicious, you never liked Rory when we were going out and I'm still convinced you were the one that had Mitchum put her on that internship to set her up for a fall. What's going on, Mother?" he asked curiously as he threw a swig of scotch down his throat.

Whenever Logan called Shira "mother" she found it very amusing, because she knew that was his code word for "bitch" when it came to her. She hid her smile and took a deep breath before she answered. "Well, Logan, I can't argue with anything you just said, but over the years I began to realize that Rory made you look respectable. True, her mother was a no good slut who got knocked up with her at the tender age of sixteen, but there's no denying, that even with her illegitimate status, she comes from an excellent blood line of Gilmores and Haydens. Plus, Logan, let's be honest…you're no different than your father; 'monogamy' is a dirty word to both of you. Sure, she found out about you and that other woman, but Rory is the type, that once you're married to her, will learn to become as blind as I've learned to become because neither of us would want to jeopardize losing our status of being a Huntzberger.

Logan was shocked at what he was hearing. He knew his mother had an ulterior motive, but he also knew she was right about him being married to a woman who could make him look respectable in the professional world, but would also make his life easier by not questioning his "need" to bed several different women.

"Okay, Shira, you sold me. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to take Rory out to the 21 Club in Manhattan this Saturday and pour on the charm. Then, after she agrees to take you back, I want you to propose to her on Valentine's Day so we can plan for a June wedding and…two other things…"

"And what those might?" Logan asked curiously, never ceasing to be amazed at his mother's long list of demands.

"I want you to make sure that you take Rory a bouquet of purple tulips when you go to see her, those are her favorite flowers, but first I need you to go over to her grandmother's and tell her you intend to follow through with all this, that woman has been driving been nuts," Shira replied. Her only real reason for having Logan visit Emily was so that Emily would know that Logan was going to make an actual attempt to reconcile with Rory so she couldn't throw it back in Shira's face later on and spill the beans about her trysts with Roberto.

"Consider it done," Logan replied in the trademark Huntzberger family fashion.

* * *

**A Supernatural Occurrence…**

The girls went to Stars Hollow on Tuesday afternoon after classes. Following their "new" routine, Shane dropped Lindsay off at the Log Cabin Pub and then went by Dean's house to pick him up to bring him back to the bar.

On the ride back to the bar, Shane told Dean the story about Jared Padelecki buying Lindsay the dress and commented on how much the two resembled one another. Dean just chuckled and told her he was much better looking than the Sam guy on Supernatural.

By the time Shane and Dean had gotten to the bar, a small crowd had gathered around Lindsay. An updated news item had flashed on the screen and her picture was on TV. Somehow the paparazzi had found out she was the mystery lady that Jared had bought the dress for and a prestigious modeling agency was offering to give her a contract if they could locate her.

"Linds, this is unbelievable. St. Claire must be kicking himself that he told you, you were fat. When you're rich and famous, you can tell the press what happened and humiliate the hell out of the guy."

All of the sudden, Lindsay's cell phone rang and it was Marty calling, word must have already reached him about Lindsay's sudden fame.

* * *

**Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?**

That Friday afternoon, Logan paid Emily a visit before he approached Rory about reconciling with her. The new maid, Francesa, welcomed him at the door and led him back to the parlor, where Emily proceeded to immediately pour Logan a scotch.

"Well, Logan, what brings you here today?" Emily asked dumbly.

"I think you already know that, Emily," Logan replied, rolling his eyes.

"Of course, of course, we need to get you and Rory back together so we can start planning for a June wedding. Now, as far as the honeymoon goes, don't you worry, Richard and I will pay for you two kids to stay for a long vacation at a secluded beach front resort in Anguilla. I'd love for you two to give me grandchildren as soon as possible and can you think of a more romantic place to conceive a child?"

"Yeah, well, that sounds like fun…" Logan commented. "Say, listen, Emily, I don't know if this is going to work."

"What do you mean, you don't know if it's going to work?" she snapped back angrily.

"Hey, I just heard today from one of my friends on campus that Rory moved out of her dorm a few weeks ago, but no one seems to know where she's living now. I can't call her because she changed her cell phone number after we broke up and with this being a new semester at school, I don't know her class schedule anymore. Do you think you could lend a hand with this one?"

"Well, I just realized I don't happen to have her new cell phone number either and I didn't know she had moved out of her dorm. Mmmm…today is Friday, why don't you come back about seven fifteen. That is when we have our Friday night dinners with Lorelai and Rory. Lorelai and Rory usually arrive at seven, but I think it would be better if you got here a little later," she mused.

"Oh, yeah, why is that?" Logan asked suspiciously.

"Oh, that way they'll be all settled. Lorelai and Rory can be quite a handful when they get here, but they usually calm down about seven fifteen and it'll just make things easier if you come a little later," Emily said, lying through her teeth. The real reason she wanted him to come later is because she knew Lorelai and Rory would see his red Jaguar in the driveway and take off without coming into the house.

A few hours later, Lorelai, Rory and Al pulled up to the Gilmore mansion in Lorelai's jeep. Lorelai thought it would be a good idea to bring Al over so all three of them could confront Emily and Richard face to face and let them know they'd better stop trying to break up Rory and Al or Rory and Lorelai would never speak to them again.

Francesca greeted them sweetly at the door and offered to take their coats; however, anticipating the probable need for a hasty departure, none of them would let her take them.

When Emily spied Al in her living room, you would have thought it was the start of Armageddon.

"**HOW DARE YOU ENTER MY MANSION!"** Emily bellowed at the top of her lungs.

"Mom, get a grip," Lorelai said. "He's Rory's boyfriend, not Jack the Ripper."

"I'd sooner have Jack the Ripper in my house. At least Jack the Ripper would have had the class not to have kept me from being served at that exclusive restaurant 'Venice in the Alps'."

"Mother, I hardly think Al could have stopped you from –"

"Are you calling me a liar? His cousin Angela is the proprietor and he told me she reserved the right not to serve bitches and then had your father and me thrown out of the restaurant like we were homeless beggars from the streets."

Lorelai cast an amused glance in Al's direction. She really hoped Rory wasn't going to screw this one up because she knew she would enjoy having Al as a son-in-law, based on that anecdote alone.

"Yeah, well, you knew it had to happen sooner or later, Mother. Since I take it we are not welcome here since we're with Al, I think we'll leave and go out for Mexican food."

All of the sudden Emily panicked when she heard they were leaving. Logan would be here in less than ten minutes and she had a feeling that Rory would drop Al like a hot potato just as soon as she saw Logan again. Plus, she knew Logan had a way about him that could make Al feel like a downright peasant after he got through with him. Rory had once shared a story with her about how easily Logan had belittled Jess after he had written a book and had come to see her. Since she'd once made the mistake of inviting Jess to dinner at her house, she'd knew it was no easy task to belittle Jess and she would enjoy being there to witness Logan making mincemeat of Al.

Precisely eight minutes later, the door bell rang and Logan showed up bearing gifts for Emily, Rory, and Lorelai. For Emily, he had brought a vintage bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from 1974. For Lorelai, he had brought a collection of international gourmet coffees, and for Rory, he remembered to bring the bouquet of purple-colored tulips.

Emily greeted him at the door, accepted the gifts on behalf of everyone and ushered him out the front door quickly to talk with him privately.

"Logan, I just wanted to brief you that Rory and Lorelai are here and they brought a guest," Emily said softly outside the door.

"Anyone I know?" Logan asked.

"Er…no…it's a man named Al Sarducci. He appears to be Rory's date."

"Well, that's all I needed to know. I am out of here," Logan responded as he started to put back on his coat.

"No, Logan, don't do that," Emily said as she ripped Logan's coat away from him.

"Emily, are you nuts?"

"Logan, yes, he is her boyfriend now, BUT I remember a time when Rory said a guy named Jess came to visit her in Hartford and you cut him down to size and he never bothered her again. I need you to do that again, Logan. This man is a common highway patrol man and attends a state university. You and I both know Rory deserves more than that as hard as she has worked in her education all these years and by virtue of being my granddaughter. I need you to at least try and win her back, if you don't try, your mother will live to regret it," Emily warned.

"What the hell does that mean, Emily?"

"Just do it OR both of you will find out," Emily threatened.

Logan was on the verge of telling Emily to go to drop dead, but wasn't sure what kind of hold she had on his mother, so he begrudgingly decided to stay and see if he still had a shot with Rory.

"Shall we?" Emily asked as she stuck out her arm for Logan to escort her back into the house.

They walked into the parlor, where Rory, Lorelai and Al were sitting on the sofa, already having their drinks.

"Rory, Lorelai, you remember, Logan?" Emily said, smiling like the cat who had just swallowed the canary.

"This little twerp is _Logan_?" Al said laughing as he shot straight up and towered over Logan by almost a foot.

"I'll have you know that Logan is from one of the wealthiest families in this country, if not the world and you will show him respect, you peon, or else," Emily demanded.

"Or else what, lady?"

"Or else I shall be forced to make a call to your superiors and have you removed from your job. I am from one of the wealthiest families, too, and the state of Connecticut looks forward to my annual donation for the Highway Beautification Project and should I be forced to tell them I'm withholding my donation because you came roaring into my house and acted like a Neanderthal, I am sure that will not bode very well for your continued future as a highway patrol man."

"Lady, you can make the call right now. It's been a little too quiet for my union shop steward lately and that should give him a mighty good laugh. I think you should also remember that, while you're standing around waving those threats of yours, that I am on my way to becoming a high level FBI official and it's probably not the wisest thing in the world to piss me off. I am a generous man, though, and if you still feel like making that a call, here's a quarter be my guest," Al said as he took the coin out of his pocket and threw it across the room. "Come on, Rory, let's go!" he ordered and she obediently took his hand and they left, with Lorelai running right behind them.

Emily immediately snarled at Logan, "Why didn't you do anything? I have never known you to act like such a wuss. You picked now of all times to wimp out? Boy you're mother's going to be in big trouble now. Wait 'til I tell the ladies at the DAR about her –"

"About her what?" Logan demanded.

"Never mind, you'll find out soon enough and it will be all your fault."

"You know, Emily, I don't really give a shit. My mother set Rory up for a fall at that newspaper internship and now you're trying to blackmail her because you can't stand the fact that Rory is dating someone who isn't a member of Café Society. You bitches think you're in such an exclusive club and the truth is that you're only exclusive because all the normal people in the world hate your guts and don't want to be around you. You can count me in their ranks. I now have to say I admire Rory for getting away from you people. Her mother had enough sense to do that years ago and I wish I had, too, because maybe I wouldn't have loused things up with Rory by thinking I was entitled to have whatever I wanted when I already had what I needed by being with her."

With that he disappeared into the night and was never in communication with any of the Gilmores again and Emily had to finally accept defeat. For once, her plans to kill off a romance she did not approve of did not work.

* * *

**Valentine's Day In New York …**

**UPSTATE, NY**

While Emily's plans for Logan and Rory to become engaged did not happen on Valentine's Day like she'd planned, Rory did get engaged to _Al _on Valentine's Day. He took her back to the place where they had their first date, "Venice In the Alps" in Upstate New York, and proposed to her there. He had made prior arrangements with his cousin, Angela, to have the kitchen roll over the dessert cart at the end of their meal and, the ring was sitting in a pink velvet box on a platter on top of the dessert cart. Next to the box was a Valentine's card with Rory's name on the envelope and inside the card were the words "Won't You Be My Wife?" instead of the usual "Won't You Be My Valentine?" After Rory opened the pink box and said yes to Al's proposal, they both selected a tiramisu off the cart and Angela sent over a violin player to serenade them with "It Had to be You" while they ate their dessert and the rest of the restaurant erupted in applause.

When things quieted down at the restaurant, Rory excused herself to go to the ladies room and sneaked a call to Lorelai to tell her the news.

"Yes!" Lorelai screamed out over the phone, other than Dean, Al was the only boyfriend Rory had that she'd actually ever liked; however, knowing Rory's fickleness, she wasn't going to feel completely comfortable about the news until she saw Rory actually taking her vows.

At the risk of making erratic Rory change her mind, she did confess to Rory that she thought Al was a better choice for her than all her other previous boyfriends. Lorelai thought because he was more mature and stable, he would somehow make up for her lack of a father figure in her life. Rory promptly said "Ewww!" when Lorelai mentioned Al being a father figure for her, but Lorelai knew Rory would eventually understand what she meant when she started to become more aware of how protective Al was of her. She doubted any of Rory's other boyfriends, even Jess, would have had the guts to get right into Emily's face and fight for Rory the way Al did.

**DOWNSTATE, NY**

As a special treat, Dean and Marty had decided to take Shane and Lindsay into Manhattan for Valentine's Day. Originally, they were going to just drive there in Dean's Yukon, but Lindsay had landed a modeling contract with the Ford Modeling agency and so was able to afford a chauffeur driven stretch limo to take them all there in style. Marty met the girls at their apartment and they rode the limo from Norwich to Stars Hollow to pick up Dean from his house.

Both Dean and Marty had been instructed by the girls to wear tuxes for the evening and Lindsay wore her famous Herve Leger dress and Shane wore a sexy red cocktail dress that had an asymmetrical strap that was slanted across one shoulder and covered with intricate rose appliqués. The dress certainly looked like an expensive piece of couture, but Lindsay proudly announced to the group that she purchased it on sale for a mere $40.00 from JC Penny's.

When everyone got seated in the limos, Dean and Marty presented the girls with their Valentine's gifts. Dean had gotten Shane a gold necklace with a golden rose pendant that certainly turned out to be a perfect gift to match the lovely dress she was wearing. Marty gave Lindsay a promise ring with an emerald, to match the emerald earrings he'd given her at Christmas.

Dean pretended to admire the gift Marty had given Shane, but from his own personal experience, thought Marty might be rushing things by giving Lindsay a promise ring so soon.

When they arrived in Manhattan, Dean instructed the chauffeur to take them to The Palm restaurant and then after dinner, Marty asked the chauffeur to drive them to the Empire State Building.

Marty had brought along a bottle of champagne and some plastic champagne flutes so they could toast each other on the roof of the Empire State Building. Before he brought out the champagne, they all took a few moments to stroll around the roof and admire the carpet of city lights below them. It was cool and windy on the roof of the Empire State Building and Marty cuddled Lindsay close to him to keep her warm. He'd been upset when he'd heard about the whole Jared Paledecki incident because he, too, had noticed how closely Jared resembled Dean and was afraid Jared might have been out to snag Lindsay and that she might have wanted to be snagged because he was basically another Dean with a lot of fame and fortune.

It turned out, though, that the whole dress buying incident was just a generous act of kindness due to the fact that Padelecki had overheard St. Claire tell Lindsay she was overweight and he'd couldn't have disagreed more, so he bought the dress for her to make her feel better and had his agent get in contact with someone from the Ford Modeling agency to make her an offer through the media. Marty was relieved to know Padelecki was dating a starlet named Sandra McCoy and had no romantic designs on his Lindsay.

And what followed Padelecki's act of kindness was truly a blessing for Lindsay, after seeing herself on TV and getting in touch with the agency, they made her an offer for a modeling contract with a starting salary of $175,000 a year. Not a fortune compared to what top models were making, but it was certainly enough to pay the rest of her schooling off and next year she'd be buying a new car and giving her truck to Shane. As her schedule allowed, she still continued to work at Pete's Tavern, as long as she got the same shift as Shane. She no longer need to work there for the money, but the gang at Pete's had become her family, which was very valuable to Lindsay, since she was still estranged from her own.

Marty took Lindsay into his arms and kissed her lustfully, as she peered across his shoulders, she could see that Shane and Dean were doing the same thing. After they left the top of the Empire State Building, they'd be going to the Plaza for the night to continue celebrating Valentine's Day.

Marty whispered to Lindsay, "Would you like some champagne now, Lindsay?"

"Uh-huh," she answered in a whispery tone.

He took her by the hand and led her over to Dean and Shane, popped the cork off the bottle and poured up the bubbling liquid into the four champagne flutes. "Any volunteers to make the first toast?" he asked.

"Me! Me!" Shane said, waving her hand and bobbing up and down, like a kid in a classroom.

"Okay, Shane," Dean laughed as they all four held their glasses up.

"Well, guys, I'll have another toast for all of us in a second, but this one is especially for me and Lindsay. Linds, here's to you and me – it is good to be us, and do you know why?"

"Why?" Lindsay asked laughing.

"Because we are blonde and Blondes Have More Fun damn it!"

"I'll drink to that," Marty said as he lifted his glass.

"So will I," Dean agreed as he clinked everyone's glass and they all drank down the champagne and then headed down the elevator and into the limousine to finish enjoying the best Valentine's Day each one of them had ever celebrated.

_**A/N: While the author is not blonde, this story was fun to write. There is a possibility that the completed status may be changed and some more chapters added in the future, but for now it is time to end the story and to thank everyone again who took the time to read "Blondes Have More Fun. "**_

_**- Lost Girls of Stars Hollow -**_


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